I have spent most of my day downtown where a protest was planned in order to break the Prohibition to protest in the avenue Habib Bourguiba declared by the ministry of interior (without a voted law) and celebrate the martyrs day (April 9, 1938) when i first arrived at around 10am I found my friends gathered at cafe El Hana as previously agreed a minute later the mob stationed at Mohammed Ali square already hit the avenue from the northern side and then other crowds joined in until it became a large protest heading to the south of the street to reach the ministry of interior few minutes later a tear gas shell was fired and the police came from nowhere with sticks beating-up everybody around this I fled and hide into a building for few minutes before moving back to the open to find out that crowd spread out through the other streets as Rome, Paris and Jean-jeaures streets where a chase and chase back was happening between the police and the protesters.

The brutality of the police edged to the former regime style when everybody was beat violently, teargas was fired tens of times and the chase and rock throwing from both sides last for more than 4 hours resulting in the injury of tens of people several other were arrested some has been released, the tricky thing today was that the militia of Ennahda (Islamic party who won most of the constitution elections and the ministries by 25%) was there helping the police to track and hit the protesters.

Even-though the ministry of interior did warn about anybody trying to trespass the avenue habib Bourguiba, we were there as free citizen because there are no rules in the world that can stop a nation from using its right to protest and this is just the beginning as the rage of the police did simply charge our batteries for more and more… keep tuned and listen to my testimonial on RTCi radio.

Although the floods that turns Tunis into Venice, Tunisians web surfers did find a way to entertain them selves while stuck at their homes : all along last Sunday thousands of Tunisian were comments into Obama Facebook page using the same funny quotes they used to use with the former dictator Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali aka #Zaba by simply mixing Tunisian and US names and locations like Micheal Bouazzi set fire on himself in NY or Degage Obama and so on, the operation called #trollingObama got a wide success among Tunisian facebook with comments in Arabic and french and did even spread in other pages like Sarkozy, netanyahou or even Aljazeera TV.

Some are even gone as far as dealing with those cons Ennadha votes (the Renaissance: Islamic right party) and Al Aridha or other parties who do stupidly forgot that democracy is the choice of the majority and perceptions others are certainly different, the great blow has been the Democrats made them forget sometimes because of their ultimate fighting is to involve everyone regardless of their ideologies.

And finally I press to repeat that if one govern a party you do not like it’s quite normal, Texas Americans do not consider Obama their president and Turkey is a large majority who does not like Erdoğan but it does the other parties and civil society must act again with confidence because, as mentioned Azyz Amami: “the struggle continues.”

Zied Mhirsi doctor and long time blogger as Zizou From Djerba(http://www.zizoufromdjerba.com/) is introducing his media project called Tunisia Live (http://www.tunisia-live.net/) which aims to provide local news in English through articles, audio and video podcats and also a web radio to the small community of expats an the large worldwide Anglophilic audience leading this small bit important slice of the local media.

The concept is as simple as a meetup at a coffee shop where everyone will armed with a laptop and / or a smart-phone in small groups coached by bloggers to write articles on new created blogs for a common cause which is currently the elections and give others the opportunity to start their own blogs.

For those interested this will take place next Tuesday (probably Barista Coffee or Alhmabra – Berges du Lac) starting 7pm, your suggestions and your help will be greatly appreciated.

Credits: Abdelkarim Benabdallah

January 14, the Tunisia revolution took a focal point a flow of hundreds of journalists and photojournalists that i never dreamed to meet or see all at the same spot in my life seized the streets and run with the crowds sharing both emotion and teargas hundreds of newspapers articles, TV coverage and radios (many thanks to the outstanding work of all the journalists who have been in ground zero or ion their overseas studios) was the main headline of all western media that did spread the revolution to people who didn’t even knew that such country ever existed.

The media coverage before and after the January 14 was really helpful to promote the burst of anger that did kick away one of the most corrupted and bloody dictators of this era and at the same give a hand to Tunisia through free advertising that did lead to several business opportunities and suddenly (beside the European press and especially the French media) all the interest moved away to the Libyan and Syrian revolution leaving the Tunisian case half-finished with increasing need to work out the image of a new born democracy, few newspapers or radios did mentions Tunisia and when they did it was so brief that it was lined-up with miscellaneous news.

The reason behind this lack of interest that we have used to (beside the exception of the riots of the revolution) is that the western media is a cuisine that makes it daily buffet using various spices of of them is violence, blood and crying mothers which didn’t -hopefully- last much in Tunisia with an excellent recovery of the safety and the economy slow by effective few months after the revolution the others spices are quite know:

- Natural resources (Libyan oil).

- Close borders with Israel (Syria).

- Hatred level to America (both Syria and Libya leaders did speak out about their hate to the free world while Ben Ali never did).

And so Tunisia, the country leading the Arabic spring is now in the bottom of the list and usually mentioned as pioneer of this phenomena but never did get the right slice of the cake but this won’t affect much our nation to raise and prosper it’s just a reminder and my blessed followers that we have to count on our self (as we did in the though times of the anger riots of the revolution) and that we will continue so and that we have somehow to reach this audience that does affect our future in many ways and finally: god bless Tunisia.

The ravages of the Libya war in are hardly limited to the territory of the neighboring country, it has suffered collateral damage as a hundred thousands of refugees and other manage a shelter, the bombing and friendly fire on borders but all that remains in the humanitarian field in time of war might have been seen and suffer worst disasters.

The effects of the war combined with an economy slowdown as a very serious inflation of real estate: in the city as Nasr and the palmeries (see photos above) the real estate stock market has seen a dramatic increase in a few months ago today the average apartment rent has Aouina was a of 400-600 TND for a 2 room appartement today ‘ Today if you find one it will be around 500-800 TND even all his apartments are suddenly transformed into high stading furnished apartments with monthly rental is between 1200 to 3000 DT!

Madness in prices pushes people out of their homes and to rent in areas that are less expensive to take advantage of the situation and the height is that you find a single empty apartment for rent! (Some exceptions)

The poor refugees who escaped the war between revolutionary and pro-Qaddafi had to pay a high price for a luxury stay they believe in cost and in terms of welfare (which is also the case even before the time of the war ), our dear neighbors are in Tunisia it can not find a Tripoli or Benghazi which has developed recreational tourism on one side and am on the other medical.

The conflict does Libyan soon be resolved within a few months resulting precipitate and the final return of refugees in masses, leaving behind thousands of empty flats and as you know very well it’s going to cause a new crisis with real estate no one pays attention to the lack of control and clear legislation that is organizing this fragile area and affects the Tunisian first before anyone else.

Six months after the fall of the Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali regime, Tunisians discuss their efforts to implement radical change in the face of enormous challenges – both social and political

A general strike began today in Tatouine toues including coffee shops, pharmacies, bakeries, … with the exception of the hospital and two taxis and all roads leading to the oil fields of Borma Thu Zar, El Makhrouga etc. .. are blocked in both directions.

According to two friends there, the cause of the strike that paralyzed the city and the supply routes of oil companies spread across the surrounding desert and by the inhabitants of the region does not provide enough jobs for young unemployed the region , in a recent meeting of local people and representative of oil companies and various Tunisians and foreign industrial sub-contractors framed by the Maire, the various parties agreed to agreement on the hiring of 218 unemployed before May 15 a promise which has been exalted in some contracts with CSD in subcontracting companies were heard while the large company (ENI, OMV, SEREPT, etc. .. )  as stuff will hire these young people which resulted in the strike which could go on until the positions claimed.

Slim Amamou

Slim Amamou cyber-activist and blogger (aka @ Slim404) arrested twice in 2010 and 2011 for his ideas against censorship later appointed a secretary of the state of sports and youth after the revolution of January 14, is thinking to resigning from the Tunisian government that he commented “my mission is over” in an interview to Express FM in which he also talks about his relationship with the community and its position was about censorship, pirate party, and the legalization of soft drugs but also open govern and the need to boost dialogue between government and citizens.