"Every day, I had to find a few dinars to survive. I couldn't stand it any more. I decided to commit suicide. I went to buy gas, I poured it on myself, set it on fire, and ran to the main road of the city."
Karim Hamdi, 39, remembers clearly his act of despair one evening in November 2011.
He was saved by family and neighbours. One of Mr Hamdi's brothers managed to smother the flames with a blanket and he was taken to a regional hospital by the civil defence, who arrived an hour and a half after they had been called. He was in a coma for 10 days but survived, although the injuries he suffered require expensive treatment to this day.
The father of a 9-year-old girl has always had a hard life. His entire family live in a modest, one-storey cement house in Raqqada, a southern suburb of Kairouan, a town in Tunisia's central region. One of his brothers migrated illegally to Italy four years ago and has not been heard from since. Mr Hamdi dropped out of school at the age of 13 and started working in seasonal and temporary jobs: as a bricklayer, a watermelon picker — whatever he could find in a region where work is scarce.
Mr Hamdi’s case is one of hundreds of self-immolations in Tunisia since the revolution in 2011. The death by self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a street vendor in the central town of Sidi Bouzid, on December 17, 2010 is considered a trigger for the protest movement that led to the fall of the president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 14, 2011.
The phenomenon has not stopped since. Seven years after Bouazizi’s death, which moved the entire world, self-immolation has become the second most common suicide method in Tunisia, with a case every three days in 2016, according to the health ministry.
Mehdi Ben Khelil, a doctor at the forensic department of Charles Nicolle Hospital in Tunis, has published many studies on suicide in Tunisia and has been studying the self-immolation phenomenon since 2012. For him, there is no doubt the increase is linked.
“It is certain that there was a Bouazizi phenomenon. We noted a preferential increase in immolations. Before the revolution, self-immolations were the fourth suicidal mode. Now it is the second one with an increase of more than three times. It's really significant," he says.
A widely publicised suicide, such as Bouazizi's, is known to be followed by a spike in copycat acts — a phenomenon known as "the Werther effect". But Dr Ben Khelil says this is an "overly simplistic explanation" because the Werther effect is limited: "Peaks are usually observed two to four weeks after the widely publicised event, and reduce in the three to six following months." In Tunisia, the trend has not declined seven years later.
Dr Ben Khelil’s work also shows a correlation between the rise of suicides in general since the revolution and the socio-economic context. He refers to studies on suicides after major societal changes, such as the dissolution of the USSR. “With the revolution, many hopes were born. People were hoping to be heard, and their social situation would improve."
Unemployment in Tunisia remains high, reaching 15.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2017. Regional disparities persist. In 2015, the poverty rate in the governorate of Kairouan was 34.9 per cent, compared with 5.3 per cent in the region of Tunis.
In El Maksouma, another southern suburb of Kairouan, Hafedh Haddaji, 33, has recently returned from a specialist hospital in Ben Arous, near Tunis, where serious burns cases from all over Tunisia are treated. His wife Dorsaf committed suicide by immolation at the end of July.
"She was on fire, I threw myself on her, and caught her to save her. At that moment, I thought about the poverty we were living in, and I told myself that if I couldn’t save her I would rather die with her."
Already very poor, the couple found life even more difficult after the birth of their first child two years ago. Driven to desperation by their daily struggle to provide milk and diapers for their son, Mr Haddaji's wife finally decided to take her own life.
Mr Haddaji, who is still recovering from his wounds, blames the authorities. Besides odd jobs, a few rows of olive and fruit trees behind his house are small but vital source of income.
“Water does not reach the village. Some olive farmers have diverted the water supply to irrigate their fields. We demonstrated, but the authorities did nothing. They are with them.”
Even the dramatic death of Mr Haddaji’s wife did not move the authorities.
His brother Atef regrets the lack of help for people with psychological problems. “She had suicidal thoughts," he says of his late sister-in-law, "and my brother still has some, and nobody is there to help them.
"When we go to the regional hospital, it’s only if we have real, physical injuries,” he says.
“There is a lack of psychiatrists in the inland regions, so we train people in different fields who can be in touch with people at risk — in the schools or occupational physicians,” says Fatma Charfi, a child psychiatrist and coordinator of the Tunisian Technical Committee Against Suicides, which is affiliated with the health ministry.
The committee work on several aspects of suicide prevention: training "sentinels" to identify people at risk; teaching people how to care for suicidal people; creating public awareness; and setting up an epidemiological information system to better understand the phenomenon.
Mr Hamdi says he never received any psychological support or help from the authorities after attempting suicide six years ago.
"Apart from more responsibilities to undertake, with my daughter to raise, and 7,000 dinars [Dh10,300] of credit to repay to the hospital, what I did hasn’t changed anything,” he says.
“My burns still make me suffer a lot. Self-immolation is not a solution. But at the same time, there are no solutions in our cases.”
DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Afghanistan fixtures
- v Australia, today
- v Sri Lanka, Tuesday
- v New Zealand, Saturday,
- v South Africa, June 15
- v England, June 18
- v India, June 22
- v Bangladesh, June 24
- v Pakistan, June 29
- v West Indies, July 4
What is type-1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a genetic and unavoidable condition, rather than the lifestyle-related type 2 diabetes.
It occurs mostly in people under 40 and a result of the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugars.
Too much or too little blood sugar can result in an attack where sufferers lose consciousness in serious cases.
Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the more common type 2 diabetes.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Kamindu Mendis bio
Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis
Born: September 30, 1998
Age: 20 years and 26 days
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
Batting style: Left-hander
Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic
Power: 375bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh332,800
On sale: now
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
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Favourite book: ‘The Art of Learning’ by Josh Waitzkin
Favourite film: Marvel movies
Favourite parkour spot in Dubai: Residence towers in Jumeirah Beach Residence
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
