As ally countries and financial institutions have obliged government requests for continued support with new lending agreements, Tunisia concedes to loan upon loan to pay back its debts.
Are Arabs “Behind”?
“We Arabs, we are behind” we have sighed to ourselves for more than a century. Streams of powerless tears flood our newspaper columns. A veritable fountain of tears spewing from our tear ducts. And we ask Europe, who quietly laughs at us, to give us a hand. “We Arabs, we are behind. Let’s be modern!” We’re spending our time running to catch a train that is behind us. Europe is not our future; it is our past.
Oil contracts disclosure: red lines limiting transparency
Since June 14th, the portal “Open Data” offers to the public contracts that link ETAP and the State to Tunisian and foreign hydrocarbon operators. Other equally vital actors in the energy and mining sector however are absent or nearly so.
Youth Culture: War Zone Brings Tunisian Hip Hop Artists Together for Friendly Fire
On June 18th nearly 50 Tunisian hip hop artists came together for the country’s first multi-talent event, “War Zone”.
Tunisian Gender Law Reform: Optimism in Spite of the Long Road Ahead
On June 3rd, Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (Euro-Med) hosted a conference entitled “Forms of Violence Against Women and Girls” to discuss the Tunisian Personal Status Code and Penal Code – both of which are long overdue for reform. Critical yet optimistic, the proposed goals for legal reform are found in a study entitled “Violences à L’égard des femmes: Les lois du genre” written by Sana Ben Achour, a law professor and former president of ATFD.
Tunisia’s renewable energies threatened by foreign loans and PPPs
Observations about the “privatization of profits and nationalization of losses” associated with foreign investment and PPPs in Morocco resonate with concerns in Tunisia about European financial and technical assistance for renewable energies.
In spite of red flags, Tunisia pushes forward with PPP
“Practically, realistically, it is inevitable that we move towards PPP,” said Minister of Development Yassine Brahim during a June 14 conference on Finance, PPP, and Sustainable Development at the IACE. “Let’s work instead on how to pursue them while minimizing the risks … it’s a good way to accelerate the country’s development.”
A new face for the same “foreign support” to Tunisia
Assessing Tunisia’s resistance to political and economic reforms, the Atlantic Council observes that “old guard networks are present throughout the political system, the business world, and security institutions,” and proposes that Western donors adopt new support strategy to help Tunisia progress in its democratization process.
Ennahda’s 10th Congress: Contextualizing the “Separation” of Mosque and State
Ennahda’s 10th Congress took place between May 20th and May 25th, bringing reforms which sparked conversations about where the party is headed next. Media coverage highlighted Ennahda’s separation of “mosque and state” as a step towards better governance in Tunisia. The portrayals of what this “separation” truly means varies in Western and Tunisian news coverage, with some reports being more skeptical than others.
Tunisians abroad dissatisfied with proposed representative authority
Members of the Coordination of Associations for Immigration and Tunisians Abroad (CAITE) gathered in Tunis last Thursday to articulate their demands for a representative body. The association has criticized the associated Draft Law 015/2015 concerning the creation of a National Council, which CAITE members “cannot accept in its present version.”
Building another South in Oued El Khil: Aesthetics of Resistance
Oued El Khil, a few kilometers from Medenine, is situated on the chain of mountains which cross the Tunisian southern cities of Beni Khedach, Chenini, Matmata and Beni Zelten. The small village defies the vastness of the desert and exclusion from the surrounding modern urban ugliness that has polluted and destroyed pearls such as the thirty-three Ksurs of Medenine, bombarded in the early sixties, and the oasis of Gabes, contaminated since the seventies by the chemical industry.
Liberalization of Tunisia’s agricultural sector: moving towards the inevitable?
Amidst a circle of union representatives, business-owners, farmers, and researchers, reservations and concerns regarding the impact of a free trade agreement on Tunisia’s agricultural sector were part of a debate that was ultimately less about whether or not than how to proceed with a “greater integration into the European economic space.”
6th Youth Forum in Gafsa: France-Tunisia Cooperation and its Discontents
Chartered buses from l’Institut Français headed towards Gafsa to assemble at the 6th Youth Forum, which each year, celebrates decentralized cooperation between France and Tunisia. Behind the “support” of civil society appears to be the dissemination of a doctrine; one which claims that what will help boost start-ups is a solution for mass unemployment and marginalization. In light of some “success stories”, how many are left behind?
Quantifying the unquantifiable: religion and politics in North Africa
On May 10, Tunisian polling institution SIGMA Conseil and German foundation Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) presented the results of their survey “Religion and Politics in North Africa.” How accurately do study findings reflect society’s views on issues as elusive and multifaceted as religious and national identity?
A history of slavery in the village of EL Gosbah
In the arid semi-desert governorate of Medenine, media attention was recently drawn to a small village called Gosbah. Inhabited by a small black community, the ‘Abid Ghbonton. Gosbah lies next to another village inhabited by the white Ghbonton; the two territories are separated by a small river.
One news, different views: discussing journalism in the Mediterranean
On the morning of May 13, more than thirty individuals from Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Spain, Italy, and France gathered in a small conference room in Tunis. Their assignment: to discuss the practice of journalism in the south and north of the Mediterranean. A non-exhaustive overview on some of the points made and questions raised throughout the day.
In Clinton’s inbox, US support for Tunisia was reinvented
The recently revealed emails of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shed light on a cast of key characters and their roles in informing the decisions, diplomatic phone calls, and initiatives that constitute US response to what was unfolding in Tunisia at the time of revolution.
Shakespeare in Médenine
The 20th edition of the National Festival of Experimental Theatre of Médenine is the first of these seasonal events. Coinciding with the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, this year’s festival is dedicated to the British poet and playwright. For one week, the stage will be set for plays—of varying degrees of intensity and fidelity—dealing with Shakespearean themes and characters.
