'Keep up the Fight', Urges Tunisian Street Vendor's Sister

Leila Bouazizi says she was 'very disappointed' in the outcome of the uprising, even if it toppled Tunisia's longterm ruler -  AFP
Leila Bouazizi says she was 'very disappointed' in the outcome of the uprising, even if it toppled Tunisia's longterm ruler - AFP
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'Keep up the Fight', Urges Tunisian Street Vendor's Sister

Leila Bouazizi says she was 'very disappointed' in the outcome of the uprising, even if it toppled Tunisia's longterm ruler -  AFP
Leila Bouazizi says she was 'very disappointed' in the outcome of the uprising, even if it toppled Tunisia's longterm ruler - AFP

Tunisians should keep up the fight for their rights, believes the sister of a street vendor who set himself alight a decade ago, triggering a string of protests around the Arab world.

But Leila Bouazizi admitted the revolt which flared in late 2010 has done little to solve the economic problems that pushed her brother, Mohamed, over the edge.

"Everyone thought the government would do something," she told AFP in Quebec, where she moved to study in 2013 and has lived ever since.

"Unfortunately, it did nothing," she added, saying she was "very disappointed" in the outcome of the uprising, even though it brought down the north African country's long-time ruler Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.

Mohamed Bouazizi and his family lived in modest circumstances in the run-down central rural town of Sidi Bouzid.

Like many young, unemployed Tunisians, Mohamed, then 26, provided for his loved ones with the limited means at hand, selling whatever fruits and vegetables were in season.

On the morning of December 17, 2010, the police seized Mohamed's handcart -- which served as a makeshift stall -- and his merchandise.

After a series of petty harassments, it was the last straw. Mohamed doused himself in petrol and set himself alight.

"It was an accumulation of things that made him explode," said Leila, now aged 34.

At the time, she was studying in another town, but she recalled hearing that her brother had been slapped by a policewoman during an altercation, although this was never confirmed.

When Mohamed asked local authorities to investigate, "he didn't get a response", she said.

"He was really annoyed... That's why he took petrol and did what he did."

The young man succumbed to his wounds in early 2011.

But his act had sparked unprecedented mass demonstrations across Tunisia, super-charged by social media, which then ignited a series of revolts across the Middle East.

"When my brother did that act, everyone exploded and protested against the system," Leila said.

"Everyone wanted the situation to change," she added, saying her brother had been in "the same situation" as most young people.

In the wake of his death, the Bouazizi family received "lots of threats" -- including death threats -- as well as harassment both online and in the streets by people opposed to the revolution.

Rumors were rife that they had become rich.

"It was dangerous," said Leila. Her mother, surviving brothers and sisters managed to emigrate to Quebec where Leila lives in a residential district and works in the aeronautics industry.

She said they are "well integrated", but continue to follow events in Tunisia.

The country has seen some progress in the past decade, she says -- it has a new constitution and has organised several democratic elections.

"You can speak, you can demonstrate," she said, noting the lack of political freedoms during the 23-year rule of Ben Ali.

But a succession of governments has not fixed the economic situation, particularly tough for young people, Leila added.

"Every time there's a vote, they say 'we're going to do this, things will change,'" she said.

"But when they take power, nothing changes."

She criticized the lack of solid measures to reform Tunisia's failing health system or fix its decrepit infrastructure, with deadly floods following every major rainstorm.

And despite some political progress, young people in marginalized regions such as Sidi Bouzid still face unemployment three times the national average.

With rising prices, stagnant incomes and few opportunities even for the highly educated, "the situation might even be worse now" than before the revolution, said Leila.

Tragically, dozens of young people still set themselves alight every year in Tunisia, which has also seen a spike in numbers of people, particularly jobless youth, attempting dangerous sea crossings to Europe.

"It's not just my brother," she said. "Lots of people have lost their lives."

But, she said, "I hope that things will change."

"Many people are still protesting, speaking out, for change," she said. "It might take more than 10 years, but young people must carry on protesting, speaking out, to get their rights."



Weaponization of Food in Gaza Constitutes War Crime, UN Rights Office Says

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Weaponization of Food in Gaza Constitutes War Crime, UN Rights Office Says

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The UN human rights office said on Tuesday that the "weaponization" of food for civilians in Gaza constitutes a war crime, in its strongest remarks yet on a new model of aid distribution run by an Israeli-backed organization.

Over 410 people have been killed by gunshots or shells fired by the Israeli military while trying to reach distribution sites of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation since it began work in late May, UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters at a Geneva press briefing.

The death toll has been independently verified by his office, he added.

"Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food," he said, describing the system as "Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism".

"The weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law."

Asked whether Israel was guilty of that war crime, he said: "The legal qualification needs to be made by a court of law."

Israel rejects war crimes charges in Gaza and blames Hamas fighters for harm to civilians for operating among them, which the fighters deny.