On the one-year anniversary of the Tunisian revolution, a nation struggles with the transition from autocracy to democracy in the face of growing unemployment and religious conservatism.
Launched February 13, 2012
One year after the revolution that ended President Ben Ali's 23 years of suffocating rule, Tunisia is in the thick of the painful process of transitioning toward democracy. Protests and strikes have become the norm in this country where the official unemployment rate has shot up from 13 percent to 20 percent in a year.
Historically a secular nation, post-revolution Tunisia has exhibited a steady re-embracing of religion. This trend was cemented in the first democratic elections in the fall of 2011 when the Islamic Ennahda party won over 40 percent seats, making secular “modernists” fear that the liberties they fought for a year ago are now under threat.
As the pioneer of the Arab Spring, Tunisia is locked under a microscope. The world is waiting to see if this nation that sits at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and the Middle East can set a democratic example of coexistence and progress for the rest of the region.
Grantee
Rob Peterson is a Piedmont, California based photographer and videographer. Since learning Arabic and living in Tunisia as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1994-96, the Middle East and Africa have...
Grantee
Jessie Deeter is a Piedmont, California-based documentary producer, director and journalist. She recently produced “Revenge of the Electric Car,” which had its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival in...
Grantee
Sara is a Tunisian-born documentary filmmaker and editor based in San Francisco. She began her career working for several Frontline documentaries as well as the Academy-Award nominated Promises...
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A year after the revolution that sparked the Arab Spring, what has become of the people, the politics and the economy of Tunisia?
Graffiti all over Tunisia paints a picture of the Arab Spring spirit and newly found freedom after the fall of former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
Pulitzer Center grantee Jessie Deeter reports from Tunisia, one year after the Arab Spring began.
Tunisia faces economic and social obstacles in its transition to democracy.
One year after the revolution that sparked the Arab Spring, Tunisians debate the social and economic landscape of their new democracy.
A year after the revolution that sparked the Arab Spring, what has become of the people, the politics and the economy of Tunisia?
Tunisia faces economic and social obstacles in its transition to democracy.
One year after the revolution that sparked the Arab Spring, Tunisians debate the social and economic landscape of their new democracy.
Graffiti all over Tunisia paints a picture of the Arab Spring spirit and newly found freedom after the fall of former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.