Najla stands in a queue beside a water truck, holding a container in one arm, and her daughter in the other. Hundreds of other people stand before and after Najla in the the dry dust awaiting a refill. “We are farmers and we need water to protect our farms, families and cattle against thirst and […]

‘Auntie’ al-Sayida was a young girl when she watched the departure of the last French troops who occupied her country. She witnessed the Battle of the al-Jalaa in Banzart from the frontlines, a key moment in Tunisia’s struggle for independence, in northern Tunisia. “I remember that sweltering day of July 1961 very well. I begged […]

Two squares, separated by barbed wire and a few hundred metres. In one sqaure, everybody is busy laying out food, soft drinks, water and fruits on tables in the street. The sun is setting and more and more volunteers from neighbouring houses arrive bringing extra dishes, new pairs of hands and good spirit. The scene […]

Following last week’s assassination of Mohamed Brahmi and the subsequent fatal attack on a Tunisian army troupe in the al-Shaanbi area, in which eight soldiers were killed, a new political culture appears to be forming in Tunisia. A loosely-affiliated opposition movement has come together formed of parties, trade unions and political groups with differing political […]

Whenever there is a political crisis in the country, the opinion of Qais Saied, a constitutional law expert, is always in high demand. Said’s strong personality and controversial opinions about the country’s democratic transition ensure divisive varying responses. Correspondents met with Saied to discuss his assessment of the current situation in Tunisia and the legitimacy […]

He was accused by many people of being a Wahabi—a fundamentalist that is disputably a Sunni— and of calling for polygamy. He was also accused of having relations with the former regime.  This controversial personality, Dr. Hamdeh Saeed, is the new Mufti— a Sunni Islamic scholar—of Tunisia. He was accused by many people of being […]

Bardo Square, which faces the parliament-National Constituent Assembly-in Tunis was packed with Tunisians screaming at each other about how their country should be governed. On July 26, everyone from clerics to teachers, parliamentarians and students either participated in a sit-in demanding the ouster of Tunisia’s Islamist-dominated government or stood opposite them and “defended the legitimacy […]

Once again Tunisians awoke to the news of a political murder and this time was unusually symbolic, occurring on July 25, the 65th anniversary of the Tunisian Republic. Mohamed Brahmi, an opposition figure and one of the founding members of the Constituent Assembly was shot dead by unidentified gunmen, less than six months after his […]

The assassination of nationalist Mohamed Brahmi, a member of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) and leader of the secularist Popular Front Party has not passed without reactions and repercussions, especially since it occurred during national circumstances characterized by social and political tension. The assassination of nationalist Mohamed Brahmi, a member of the National Constituent Assembly […]

When Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid was assassinated last February in Tunisia, almost everyone could understand the motives – Belaid was left wing and secular so the motives were religious and ideological, at least for the perpetrators. However when Mohamed Brahmi was killed on the morning of July 25, things were not nearly as clear. […]