Today was a huge, huge day for Tunisia. After four weeks of street protests, president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali fled the country. This is probably the first time we witness an Arab leader toppled by his own people. Very happy for the Tunisian people, and very proud of them. I’m especially thrilled for my friends Sami bin Gharbia and Slim Amamou, who worked tirelessly for years to see this day. The only thing that annoyed me was that Saudi Arabia welcomed the ousted dictator to find refuge in our homeland. But for now, let’s just live this historical moment. Here’s to a domino effect all over the Middle East.
PS. This is my favorite video of the day. I don’t know what’s more amazing: the man screaming “Tunisia is free” in the middle of the street, or the woman crying while shooting the video with her phone.
Saudi Jeans 
I cried watching it,all of what I did these days was watching this revolution.They did it!We needed it.As for SA,I wish I can say I was shocked.It’s predictable,sad they didn’t learn something!
you cant blame saudi for this, this is habit for all the leaders, they have to protect eachother, otherwise who will protect if they faced this problem. We Pakistanis have suffered same situation several times, but we have sent our dictators out with full protocol. This is new, Tunis has made history. Really prays this bring positive effects and tunis get good leaders. Coz if you ask me, youth sufered on streets but same old PM took the office. Real change will the change in whole political parties. I really hope the youth who lead the movement start there own political party to represent themselves.
There would be less need for revolutions if leaders would stick to term limits. Nobody should run a country for more than ten years.
And that includes not handing over power to your wife or son.
The Tunisians still have their big problem – unemployment. This is likely to be worse after a revolution because the tourists will go elsewhere.
There is also the risk that some bastard will jump in and grab power in the post-revolution chaos, like Lenin or Khomeini.
I find it hard to be hopeful about Tunisia.
Hoping for the best! Thanks for sharing this post and video!
I am also outraged that he came to Saudi Arabia as a distinguished person instead of being held responsible for everything he had committed in Tunisia.
Will he live in the house that Idi Amin used to occupy?
i congratulate the Tunisian people on changing the methodology of how revolutions are brought upon in the middle east. But without sounding insensitive i have a few qualms i hope will be answered soon for those leading and voicing the concerns of the Tunisian people. Why is that when asked for details on what this new change is, or when asked who are the proposed new leaders of this true democracy there are no answers available as of yet from any News source interviewing those representing the movement? I mean i can understand the amount of inhumanity and suffering they have faced under this rule but i feel even thought their passion is true it isn’t enough to establish a long lasting and stable government. Every successful revolution in history has been planned out and executed and then maintained by a select few who had a vision and a method of implementation. This can be said of the American or French revolution leaders or even the Islamic Revolution and Khomeini in Iran. Those revolutions whether you agree with their leaders or not all shared strategic leadership goals who form the vision of the people prior to the uprising. Am afraid i don’t see the case to be the same way here. And what worries me is that if done incorrectly these power vacuums are usually plastered in by three possible scenarios, a military junta take over of the state, a religious faction takes power “Although the case does not seem to be leaning that way in Tunis”, or a civil war.
Please don’t take this the wrong way i don’t at all mean it as an insult to a great moment such as this. I myself am Saudi and know what it means to taste injustice but i also have to worry about us Arabs in general, we either think only with our brains or only with our hearts and never seem to appreciate a reasonable balance of the two. Please help me understand if this is not true and if there does exist a list of candidates that the Tunisian people currently have in mind for elections. If not then i think it would be naive to think that a historic movement alone brings about real change.
“by a select few who had a vision ”
That would be the next dictator and his gang.
Do you have another source for the video? I went to watch it and the account has been disabled.
Thanks!
Oops! Video reposted.
Hello, regarding the happenings in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere I would like to recommend to you and your readers an article about the mass uprising in Tunisia and the perspective of permanent revolution.
It exists in english and
and arabic.