This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.
Tunisian netizens are working around the clock to show the rest of the world the ongoing carnage in their country. What started as a protest against unemployment when a 26-year-old Tunisian man set himself on fire in Sidi Bouzid last month has ignited the country, sparking a wave of protests across it.
Despite the fact that protesters on the ground are facing a heavy-handed response from the authorities, and cyber-activists are facing the same dilemma, photographs, testimonies and videos showing the daily mayhem are appearing online.
Today's news says that at least 20 people have been killed in both the city of Tala, 200km southwest of the capital Tunis, and in the Kasserine region – and the Twitterosphere is on fire.
Earlier today, I got the following appeal on the mico-blogging site.
@JustAmira @globalvoices please tell to the world that kasserine is dying!
A quick search of the #sidibouzid hashtag weaved a story of horror – and an out pour of solidarity from decent citizens from around the world.
Tunisia-based SBZ_news tweets:
According to a source inside Talah, the police prevent the evacuation of injured citizens #SidiBouzid
and asks:
He also links to a video, uploaded on Facebook, which shows how the police have used live ammunition against protesters:
Bullets, used by the Tunisian police in Kassrin http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=170356223007700 #SidiBouzid
Nawaat too posts a video on YouTube showing how police have been engaging with the protesters using live ammunition:
On Twitter, Nawaat drives home the indiscriminate killings on the streets by showing us the image of a dead boy, on the streets of Tala:
Dead boy in the streets of Tunisia. (thala) 09.01.10 http://post.ly/1SQF7 #sidibouzid
And even the dead don't seem to be immune. Nawaat adds:
fra-ise adds:
But for Tunisian Youssef 3al-7it, hope is on the horizon:
Tunisia's clashes against its own people have brought an out pour of reactions from people from around the world.
Reacting to today's events, Saudi Essam Al Zamil tweets:
الجزيرة: عشرون قتيلا اليوم في مظاهرات تونس (يبدو أن الحكومة التونسية الجبانة بدأت باستخدام القتل لارهاب الشعب) #SidiBouzid
Dima Khatib continues:
And she adds:
From more videos from citizens in Tunisia on what is happening on the ground, tune into Nawaat's YouTube channel here or check out tunisians on vimeo here.
On Facebook, a page named Liberate Tunisia has been created, with regular updates of developments on the ground as well as images of the victims. Mr President, the Tunisian People are Setting Themselves on Fire is another group on Facebook, dedicated to documenting the struggle of Tunisian people.
This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.
5 comments
its so sad tunisia is a beautiful country and beautiful people , this violence will destroy torism , there must be other ways of getting the point across marches , internet, setting up agencies with international bodies charities ect , I pray ALLAH supphanatala will show mercy at this time and open the doors of risaq for the people , unshallah allah protect the people of tunisia