Seventy-eight year-old Jumaa Arfaoui, who lives in the isolated village of Al Masmoudin—  107 kilometers northwest of  Tunis— did not know that a tumultuous revolution had taken place in her country.  All that she was aware of was that elections had been held a year earlier, and some strangers had visited her village for the first time and talked about elections, offering the villagers many promises that never came true.

Seventy-eight year-old Jumaa Arfaoui, who lives in the isolated village of Al Masmoudin—  107 kilometers northwest of  Tunis— did not know that a tumultuous revolution had taken place in her country.  All that she was aware of was that elections had been held a year earlier, and some strangers had visited her village for the first time and talked about elections, offering the villagers many promises that never came true.

Jumaa said she did not participate in the last elections but intends to vote for “President” Ben Ali the next time she has an opportunity to vote. When villagers tried to convince her that Ben Ali had fled to Saudi Arabia and the current government was intending to bring him back to Tunisia and put him in jail, she mocked their naiveté, warning them not to endanger themselves.

While Jumaa may not be aware of recent events, it does not seem to matter in Al Mousmoudin.  Nothing has changed over the last three governments for this tiny village near Bargou.

While Jumaa has temporarily abandoned the village, Jerjarah Arfaoui (70 years old) decided to stay living in an almost collapsed house, despite the death of her husband, poverty and the absence of health facilities.

After a long sigh, she said, “I live with my daughter who harvests olives in winter and sells prickly pears in summer, and we are no longer able to afford the high cost of living; the pension provided by the government is just not enough.”

We were better off isolated

Leaning against her almost collapsing house, Rashida Harbawi, 33 years old, embraced her three children to her chest, enjoying the warmth of the sun after a cold wet week. What disturbed Harbawi and the rest of the villagers was that the rain, which lasted for a whole week, flooded the already bad roads, causing complete isolation of the village from the nearest centers of civilization.

 “We have got used to these harsh conditions. But a year ago, visits of politicians to our village increased and were accompanied by increased promises for a better life. However, with the end of the elections, all promises vanished.”

Islam, a five-year-old girl, said she dreamt of going to a kindergarten in Bargou where she could meet children of her age and learn how to read and write. She added enthusiastically that she was willing to take the risk and pass the rough road on foot and alone.

Here in the village, people’s faces express only despair. They are fed up with waiting for the promises of last year’s elections to be fulfilled. Life has not changed here in ages, they say.

They suffer continuous power cuts, decaying houses and an absence of dignified jobs. Just as last year, the youth of the village were nowhere to be seen; they moved to the nearby cities in search of a job. Only the children and the elderly suffer this grave situation in the semi-houses they live in.

Hamida, 32 years old, complains about the government’s negligence. She angrily talked about the leak in her roof. She also talked about having to drink water from the valleys for a week because they had no access to the drinking water behind the flooded valley. “We heard that the governor of Siliana is intending to visit the village to check on its conditions, but I was skeptical about this since election times have not come yet.”

Erased from the map

Mandara Charity in Bargou is one of few organizations that attend to Al Masmoudin in an attempt to help people develop solutions to change their situation. Essam Guentasi, its Secretary General, says development projects are non-existent despite the natural potential there. Furthermore, the government has not put this area on its agenda.

He suggests that there are lots of ideas to create developmental projects that suit the area, such as apiculture and traditional industries, but funding is not available. He believes that the isolation of Al Masmoudin has existed since colonial times; more than a hundred years. “With every government, even after the revolution, comes many promises with no real projects; even small ones to rid the village of its solitude,” he explained.

Describing themselves as missing or marginalized, the villagers vowed that they would not care anymore about election campaigns or trust a party with empty promises.  “It has always been the same; we have seen nothing from the president or the government except for poverty.”