It is 7:00 am in Ibn Khaldoun Street in the center of Tunis. Incomprehensible sounds are coming from slightly cracked oen windows and clouds of cigarette smoke are wafting out.

Passers-by might be think the sounds are coming from a crowded market until they enter the bar and discover another world.

In Barcelona Bar, there is not one empty spot. People are speaking loudly: boisterous voices, laughs and giggles mix together – comprehension is impossible.

It is 7:00 am in Ibn Khaldoun Street in the center of Tunis. Incomprehensible sounds are coming from slightly cracked oen windows and clouds of cigarette smoke are wafting out.

Passers-by might be think the sounds are coming from a crowded market until they enter the bar and discover another world.

In Barcelona Bar, there is not one empty spot. People are speaking loudly: boisterous voices, laughs and giggles mix together – comprehension is impossible.

I look again at my watch to make sure it is indeed 7:00 am since the activity gives the impression that it is evening. “When did all of these people come?” I wondered. “Have they come to have breakfast?”

The time was correct. Yet, all the tables had beer and wine bottles on them, as well as dishes typically eaten at lunch or dinner (meat, fatty foods, garlic, etc).

Familiar scene

Osama works as waiter at Barcelona Bar. “Some customers come here on a daily basis to drink beer and wine starting at 6:30 am,” he says.

One young customer in his thirties explains why he is there. A factory worker, he works until dawn and instead of going home, he frequents the capital’s bars, which stay open until the early morning. “I cannot cope with this reality without ecstasy,” he says, referring to the economic crisis that has beset the country.

Another man, Aziz, 40, visits these bars regularly despite his difficult financial circumstances. He barely gets by as he has been unemployed for years despite searching for a job as cook.

He has managed recently, after getting help from his family, to open a center for internet services and electronic games. However, his low income made him borrow to pay for his expenses. Most of his income “is spent in bars,” he says.

Kh. Sh. has been jobless for more than five years. She drinks beer with her friends in many bars and does so as “a cure for loneliness and despair.”

Fathia Sa’eedi, a researcher in sociology, explains that young Tunisians, feeling helpless in a financially strapped society, escape to bars.

An OECD report on youth unemployment in Tunisia, released in March 2015, called the situation, “a true social tragedy.”

“A number of young people resort to drinking to alleviate and reduce pressures and find pleasure,” says Sa’eedi. “Others isolate themselves and become introverts and some might join extremist groups,” she adds.

Rich bars

Not only poor or marginalized people go to the bars in Tunis. Many rich and well-to-do people frequent expensive bars reminiscent of Parisian bars.

After graduation, Gazi from Sfax in the center of Tunisia became a prosperous trader who spends much of his time in luxurious bars.

“Drinking wine has become an indispensable part of my life. My friends and I do not go to cafés. We go to classy bars to drink wine and chat about common interests and politics,” Gazi says.

At these bars and amidst noisy electronic music, Gazi and his friends sarcastically talk about the country’s situation. They consider the current politicians incapable of leading the country with an economy on the brink of bankruptcy.

A bottle of beer at this expensive place costs TND 9 (USD 4) and a bottle of wine costs TND 80 (USD 38). The price of a bottle of whiskey is TND 250-500 (USD 120-250). Despite these high prices, they enjoy the noisy music while girls are dancing and singing with glasses of wine and vodka in their hands.