In a small flat in the Tunisian city of Kasserine, there was a double tragedy.
Two brothers separately set themselves on fire in protest at deteriorating social conditions.
In 2011 one survived after onlookers saved him, although he was left with severe burns that scarred his face, hands, legs, neck and chest.
We don't care about such news anymore. Life goes on
The other died in 2015, shortly before his 35th birthday.
Hosni Qelieh, now 48, tried but could not get used to the change in his appearance over time.
"Every day I almost cry, ever since this fateful incident. Today I'm jobless, helpless and can't afford the treatment. I wish I had died," Mr Qelieh told The National. He was speaking while taking part in anti-government strikes this week in Tunis.
Among the protesters there were others who survived self-immolations, as well as victims of police violence during the revolution that ousted Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from the presidency a decade ago. Some of them were badly injured and now live with disabilities.
They were protesting against what they perceive as the failure of the state for leaving them without proper care or compensation for their injuries.
Years without hope
Mr Qalieh has been poor his whole life, growing up in the city of Kasserine.
The town is in a governorate remembered by some as the site of a well-known battle between US forces and the Germans during the Second World War.
But today, the troubled city has become a symbol of economic disparity between the interior and the coast, in a country of more than 11 million people.
In 1989, Mr Qalieh dropped out of high school and stayed jobless for most of his twenties. His contemporaries read news reports of rare cases of suicide by fire in his country. But few expected self-immolation to become common after 2011.
Globally, the World Health Organisation reports an average of 800,000 suicides a year, or one every 40 seconds.
In Tunisia after the revolution, suicides are not underreported because burials take place only after an autopsy of the body, as in many Arab countries. In the social media era, the very obvious cause of death happens in real time.
Unemployment and deplorable economic conditions are still the leading cause of suicide in Tunisia. Data on suicide and attempts in 2020 shows that out of 235 cases, 174 were men and 61 were women, in the 16 to 45-year-old age group, according to the latest report by the non-government Tunisian Social Observatory (OST).
Unofficial statistics estimate that more than 2,000 Tunisians took their own life or attempted suicide since December 2010 when Mohamed Bouazizi set himself ablaze before the governorate building in Sidi Bouzid.
Bouazizi was protesting against police ill treatment, after he was singled out for being an illegal street vendor. Mr Bouazisi's self-immolation was broadly seen as a catalyst for the subsequent Arab uprisings.
The young Tunisian was soon imitated by other Tunisians, including Mr Qalieh, suicidal acts of protest over unemployment and police abuse.
“I copied the same mistake,” he said, recalling the fateful day in January, 2011. “I was humiliated, insulted and badly beaten by policemen in Sousse [south of Tunis] as I was protesting at their making fun at me as a security guard.
“I clashed with one of them who started it all, grabbed him as he insulted my mother but they overpowered me. I was so desperate and suffering from severe bouts of depression as my brother self-immolated himself when he was 35, after being refused work by many employers,” he said.
“Four days later, I actually decided to go to the police and set myself ablaze, as well as them, but they narrowly escaped as a passing truck shielded them from the fire.
"I survived after an ambulance moved me to the main burns hospital in the capital Tunis with third-degree burns,” he recalled.
A lost decade
Tunisia was hailed as the success story of the Arab uprisings for the progress it made in sustaining democracy and human rights, but it has struggled for the past 10 years to revive its economy and deal with a growing sense of frustration and alienation in the street. An unwieldy power-sharing arrangement has not helped the situation, and the government has been less than nimble pursuing reforms.
The country has been led by eight governments since the downfall of the country’s long-time leader Ben Ali, but the issues affecting a large section of society have barely changed.
The OST says the country's unemployment rate rose to 18 per cent by end of last year, mainly a result of the pandemic.
Protests and strikes are a fixture of daily life in impoverished cities like Kasserine, the birthplace of Mr Qalieh. In the capital Tunis, dozens of young men recently defied Covid-19 curfew orders at night to battle with police in some of the poorest neighbourhoods.
Hundreds were injured and arrested and at least one died in last month’s clashes. More disaffected young men have threatened to self-immolate on the 10th anniversary of Bouazizi’s death.
But hardly anyone is paying attention, Samah Mouzghi, 25, from Kasserine, told The National, echoing the opinions of many Tunisians.
Ms Mouzghi believes that many people suffer from compassion fatigue, leaving them too emotionally and mentally exhausted to empathise with those who set themselves alight.
“We are no longer shocked by such an act. We used to care and feel compassion for them in the early years of our revolution but I can’t for the life of me praise anyone as a hero after doing this to him or herself,” she said.
“We don’t care about such news any more. Life goes on,” Ms Nouzghi said, consumed by an endless search for a job, four years after her graduation from university.
European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Opening weekend Premier League fixtures
Weekend of August 10-13
Arsenal v Manchester City
Bournemouth v Cardiff City
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Huddersfield Town v Chelsea
Liverpool v West Ham United
Manchester United v Leicester City
Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur
Southampton v Burnley
Watford v Brighton & Hove Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Story%20behind%20the%20UAE%20flag
%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20flag%20was%20first%20unveiled%20on%20December%202%2C%201971%2C%20the%20day%20the%20UAE%20was%20formed.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIt%20was%20designed%20by%20Abdullah%20Mohammed%20Al%20Maainah%2C%2019%2C%20an%20Emirati%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMr%20Al%20Maainah%20said%20in%20an%20interview%20with%20%3Cem%3EThe%20National%3C%2Fem%3E%20in%202011%20he%20chose%20the%20colours%20for%20local%20reasons.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20black%20represents%20the%20oil%20riches%20that%20transformed%20the%20UAE%2C%20green%20stands%20for%20fertility%20and%20the%20red%20and%20white%20colours%20were%20drawn%20from%20those%20found%20in%20existing%20emirate%20flags.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Floward%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERiyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdulaziz%20Al%20Loughani%20and%20Mohamed%20Al%20Arifi%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EE-commerce%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbout%20%24200%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAljazira%20Capital%2C%20Rainwater%20Partners%2C%20STV%20and%20Impact46%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C200%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Political flags or banners
-
Bikes, skateboards or scooters
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The specs: 2018 BMW X2 and X3
Price, as tested: Dh255,150 (X2); Dh383,250 (X3)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder (X2); 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder (X3)
Power 192hp @ 5,000rpm (X2); 355hp @ 5,500rpm (X3)
Torque: 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (X2); 500Nm @ 1,520rpm (X3)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic (X2); Eight-speed automatic (X3)
Fuel consumption, combined: 5.7L / 100km (X2); 8.3L / 100km (X3)
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch
