TUNIS // A grieving family's gesture of tolerance and reconciliation has drawn a line under the confrontation that sparked Tunisia's revolution and protests across the Arab world.
It began last December when Mohamed Bouazizi, 26, was selling fruits and vegetables from a cart in his hometown of Sidi Bouzid and had his equipment and produce confiscated.
Unable to obtain redress from municipal authorities, the young man set fire to himself and died in hospital on January 5.
It ended on Tuesday when his family withdrew their lawsuit against the female municipality agent accused of humiliating Mr Bouazizi by slapping his face in public.
A judge dismissed the case and ordered the woman to be released.
Mr Bouazizi's family still say that the agent, Fadia Hamdi, bears responsibility for Mohamed's death, but they withdrew the lawsuit in what they describe as a gesture of reconciliation in a time of upheaval.
"Mohamed died for freedom and dignity," said Mr Bouazizi's sister Leila, 24. "We want to complete his gesture by calling for tolerance."
In an interview in January with The National, Mr Bouazizi's family said that he had suffered years of harassment by police before his encounter with Mrs Hamdi on December 17.
Mrs Hamdi and another municipality agent confiscated his vegetables and scales on the ground that he did not have a permit to sell produce, according to Mr Bouazizi's family.
Mr Bouazizi immediately sought redress from the municipality office and regional governor's office, but was rebuffed by officials at both, said Leila. In desperation, he procured gasoline and set fire to himself in Sidi Bouzid's main street.
"We consider that if Fadia hadn't slapped him, he never would have gone to the municipality and the governor's office and been turned away," Leila Bouazizi said. "They completed what she started."
However, Mrs Hamdi told the court on Tuesday that she did not slap Mr Bouazizi. Her lawyer, Besma Nasri, described the trial as "a purely political affair", while hundreds of her supporters gathered outside the courtroom.
Some supporters carried banners calling for Mrs Hamdi to be freed and describing her as a victim of the ousted president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, who had her jailed in an effort to calm protests building against him.
In mid-January those protests spread from rural towns to coastal cities. On the morning of January 13, protesters marched in Sidi Bouzid calling for Mr Ben Ali's departure - a call echoed by thousands the following day in Tunis.
On the evening of January 14, Mr Ben Ali fled Tunisia after 23 years in power. Since then, an interim government has sought to dismantle the repressive system he built and prepare for legislative elections scheduled for July.
The government has jailed dozens of members of Mr Ben Ali's family, who amassed huge wealth through corruption. Last month the state seized assets held by 112 of Mr Ben Ali's family members and associates.
Most Tunisians support moves to hold Mr Ben Ali and his family to account. But other measures aimed at closing the door on his rule have proved controversial.
Last month authorities dissolved Mr Ben Ali's political machine, the Constitutional Democratic Rally party (RCD), after weeks of protests that ended with the resignation of the interim prime minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, a former Ben Ali ally.
In response, thousands of Tunisians calling for a more moderate style of politics rallied in Tunis for counter-protests featuring speeches and live rap music.
Last week a state commission overseeing political reform finalised a draft electoral law that bars senior RCD members from standing for office, prompting hundreds to protest in Tunis on Saturday. The law must be approved by the interim government and president.
Meanwhile, thousands of mainly rural Tunisians have slipped across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy in recent months seeking jobs. The interim government has appealed for patience as it tackles economic woes left over from Mr Ben Ali's era.
Tunisians have been rattled by sporadic labour strikes, protests and hooliganism - a degree of instability unknown during Mr Ben Ali's heavy-handed rule.
On Tuesday, two high-school pupils were killed and 43 injured in fighting between children of two tribes at a school in Sened, in Tunisia's Gafsa region, according to the state news agency.
Such incidents helped to lead the Bouazizi family to forget their quarrel with Mrs Hamdi, said Leila Bouazizi.
"Ben Ali is gone," she said. "What we need most now are peace and stability."
*Additional reporting by Reuters
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
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Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
THE SPECS
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Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
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Price: From Dh439,000
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
'Will%20of%20the%20People'
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HOW TO WATCH
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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.
