More than a year and a half since the former regime’s fall, hunger strikes in Tunisia  continue. Early this month, members of the National Constituent Assembly went on a hunger strike, protesting a campaign of raids and arrests made against protesters from the city of Menzel Bouzaiane, where the first Tunisian revolutionary “martyr” was killed.

More than a year and a half since the former regime’s fall, hunger strikes in Tunisia  continue. Early this month, members of the National Constituent Assembly went on a hunger strike, protesting a campaign of raids and arrests made against protesters from the city of Menzel Bouzaiane, where the first Tunisian revolutionary “martyr” was killed.

Elders, some are more than 80 years’ old, also went on a hunger strike in the same city, demanding the release of their children who had protested and demonstrated, demanding job opportunities and local development. Journalists from Dar Assabah newspaper and Al-Sour weekly also went on a hunger strike in defense of the independence of media institutions and the right of newspapers to publicity. Before that, a number of the revolution’s wounded, families of martyrs, and unemployed people went on hunger strikes in several cities and villages.

Foreign media heard about these strikes in a scene that recalls the situation before the revolution, that some new officials even repeated the same phrases that were repeated by former officials: “Some people are working on distorting the image of Tunisia abroad.”

The story of Tunisians and hunger strikes began when this form of protest became the only way for human rights activists, political activists and journalists to confront tyranny; a difficult choice because it endangers hunger strikers’ life. Over more than a decade, Tunisians have been able to accumulate quality experience in organizing these kinds of strikes.

Getting noticed

The beginning was in 2000 when journalist Taoufik Ben Brik went on a hunger strike, protesting against censorship. This famous strike broke the barrier of fear and opened the doors for another series of strikes, most importantly the strike of October 18, 2005, in which human rights activists, political activists and media figures, including the current Minister of Human Rights and Justice, Samir Dilou, participated. It was the most important strike because it united the political opposition of different ideological references and brought together human rights activists and journalists around the demands of media and organization freedom. Lawyer and human rights activist Radhia Nasraoui also went on strike for more than thirty days in protest of the harassment she suffered. Imprisoned members of the Islamic Ennahda Movement went on strike too. Human rights activist, Haytham Manna, described these strikes as “the longest in African prisons.”

At the time, these strikes highlighted the abuses of human rights and freedom in Tunisia, and were watched by top European and American bodies. This greatly embarrassed the former regime, which failed to draw another image of Tunisia other than a country that violates freedoms and human rights.

After the revolution, all restrictions imposed on freedoms and human rights were removed, and some hunger strikers found themselves in leadership positions in the state, as if the revolution had rewarded them for their struggles.

The revolution was, in essence, against the former regime’s economic and social choices that deprived whole regions from real development, which increased poverty and unemployment rates and drowned youth in the death boats heading towards the north bank of the Mediterranean Sea.

The new officials who came into power as a result of political and legal struggle and hunger strikes inside and outside prison were supposed to be aware of the revolution’s essence and thus of the expectations of the disadvantaged, the marginalized, the unemployed and slum dwellers. However, all the governments since January 14, 2011, including the government elected on October 23, 2011, have made the economic and social reforms their least important priorities, compensating for concrete measures sometimes with promises and in most cases with referring to the difficult economic situation.

The young people, who fueled the revolution, have not harvested the fruits of their role in the overthrow of the former regime. The situation of the internal disadvantaged and marginalized regions has not changed, and promises and verbal solutions have failed to convince them. As a result, new protest movements have emerged and demand movements have expanded.

In terms of geographical and sector distribution, these movements are in areas and sectors where the revolution started. The current government has dealt with these movements in different ways, from describing protesters as tools “in the hands of the counter-revolution” and “supporters of the former regime” to using security solutions, without progressing in finding solutions to the real reason for these protests: the right to employment and development.

The example of Menzel Bouzaiane (Governorate of Sidi Bouzid) is the most prominent. People of this city used all means to draw the government’s attention to their real situation in vain, which forced them to escalate their protest movement. The government responded with raids and arrests made against many young people, most of whom took part in the revolution.

It’s the same scenario in the media sector where professionals and their representative structures warned of the government’s re-domination over the media sector, turning it into a tool in its hand as it had been the case before the revolution.

On the other hand, the government always considers that the media is partial and does not deal with it as an elected government that “represents the will of the people”. And supporters of the government and its constituent parties describe the media as a tool “in the hands of the counter-revolution”. The government has even taken practical steps confirming that it is going to control the media through a series of appointments at the top of some media institutions, including Dar Assabah.

These appointments were done without consultation with the representative structures, which escalated the intensity of the protests that led to a hunger strike launched by a group of journalists for more than a month, in defense of the independence of the media institution.

Tunis is still the capital of hunger strikes despite the revolution, which means that the objectives of the revolution have not yet been realized.