KASSERINE, Tunisia (AP) – In his old life, Hosni Kalaia remembers walking confidently on the streets of his hometown of Kasserine in central Tunisia. He showed off his heavy gold bracelets and rings and pulled out his broad, sculpted chest from his regular workouts.
Today, Kalaia hides her face from the world behind dark sunglasses and a woolen hat. On the left hand, three blackened and gnarled fingers come out of a glove; to his right, he has none.
He lost them in the few seconds it took to disfigure his life forever, when – disturbed by the abuse and injustice he had suffered at the hands of a local police chief – Kalaia threw himself on petrol and caught fire.
He is among hundreds of Tunisians who have resorted to the desperate act of self-immolation for the past 10 years, following the example of Mohammed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old fruit seller in the town of Sidi Bouzid who burned in December. 17, 2010, to protest against police harassment.
Bouazizi’s horrific death inadvertently sparked mass demonstrations against poverty and repression, leading to the downfall of the 23-year-old Tunisian dictator; which in turn sparked the Arab Spring uprisings and a decade of repression and civil wars throughout the region.
The anniversary of Bouazizi’s act is normally marked by a festival of concerts, sports and conferences, but the 10th anniversary has been reduced due to coronavirus concerns. Authorities also canceled an event in Sidi Bouzid on Thursday due to a protest over economic struggles.
“I would never describe the act of self-immolation as an act of courage, because not even the bravest person in the world could do it,” Kalaia, 49, told The Associated Press in the family home. its. “When I poured gasoline over my head … I wasn’t very aware of what I was doing. Then I saw a twinkle, I felt my skin start to burn and I fell. I woke up eight months later in the hospital. “
He says it has not become easier to see the shock on people’s faces when he takes off his hat and sunglasses. Rivers of scars collapse and split on his face and deformed ears, and there are deep, livid spots on his arms and stomach.
His younger brother also became inflamed and committed suicide, and his mother tried to do the same, their family graphically recalling the chaos and economic turmoil in this North African nation.
Everywhere in the Arab world, the dreams of the protesters were shattered. Tunisia is often considered a success story and a Tunisian democratic group won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015, but, although it has more civil liberties, freedom of expression and political plurality, the country is affected by an increasingly worsening economic crisis.
The lack of socio-economic reforms, the devaluation of the Tunisian dinar and poor and inefficient governance have failed to alleviate poverty or fully revive investment. Against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment rose to 18%. Attempts to migrate to Europe by sea have increased.
“There is a huge gap between people’s aspirations and their means. It is this gap that is pushing people further into misery, “said Abdessater Sahbani, a sociologist at the University of Tunis. “You can have a good job and be well educated, but it doesn’t give you anything substantial.”
The number of self-immolations has tripled since 2011 and “the growth has persisted until 2020,” said Dr. Mehdi Ben Khelil of Charles Nicolle Hospital in Tunis, which is studying the phenomenon.
After the revolution, Ben Khelil said: “There was a contrast between what we hoped for and what we gained. Disillusionment continued to grow. “
Although there are no official statistics, the Tunisian Social Observatory of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights recorded 62 such suicides or attempts in the first 10 months of 2020.
Most appear near local government or government buildings to protest insecurity and financial hardship, said Najla Arfa, project manager at the observatory. Police abuse is often a trigger.
The overwhelming majority are working-class men in their 20s and 30s who live in disadvantaged inland areas, such as Kairouan and Sidi Bouzid. Of the 13 survivors contacted by the PA, all said they needed financial help.
In the decade since Bouazizi’s suicide, little has changed in his hometown of Sidi Bouzid. The cannons of unemployed young people are smoking in chains on plastic chairs in cafes. Others stand in line to buy cooking gas canisters after a strike cut off supplies and forced people to use firewood.
With monuments in his memory, the city has become an altar to Bouazizi, whose life resembles that of millions of other Tunisians. But not everyone considers their heritage in a positive way.
“His act had a negative effect on the whole country and especially on Sidi Bouzid,” says Marwa Hamdouni, a 30-year-old accounting assistant. “I think only his family benefited. But for the government of Sidi Bouzid, the revolution did not bring anything good “.
In 2013, Bouazizi’s family moved to Montreal. Experts say that the stories about his family that earned financially from his death generated other such suicides, especially immediately after the revolution.
Ben Khelil, the doctor, says that the reasons go beyond this: “Behind the sacrifice, there is a desire to express his words and suffering. For some people, the desire is not to die, but to be heard. “
Survivors face immense psychological, physical and financial challenges.
“Some scars can heal poorly and could prevent certain functions, such as sitting, chewing and expressing facial emotions,” says Ben Khelil. “There can be a lot of persistent pain, especially when the scars are deep and touch the nerves.”
Kalaia spent three years in a hospital and then in a private clinic, recovering from burns. He cannot hold a bottle of water, dress without assistance or sleep without medication. His arms are still full of infections.
“I won’t tell you I’m sorry I woke up, but it would have been better if he had died,” says Kalaia, smoking a cigarette. “Nowadays, I don’t think about committing suicide another time, but I’m asking God to kill me because I’m so tired.”
The Qur’an forbids suicide and many Muslim societies consider it taboo. This does not stop hundreds of Tunisians from trying every year.
In 2014, Kala’s mother, Zina Sehi, now 68, tried to burn herself to death in front of the president’s palace in Tunis, protesting against the government’s lack of support for the family. The following year, his 35-year-old brother, Saber, did the same, dying instantly. Kalaia blames himself for their actions.
The government set up a committee to prevent such suicides in 2015, but political unrest has led to a number of short-term governments taking shallow action to help survivors or their families.
“Do you see what this condition has done to me?” It is the condition that left me in this corner “, says Kalaia, pointing to a mattress on the floor of his house where he sleeps. “It’s over, my life is over.”
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Mehdi El Arem from Sidi Bouzid contributed.