Arab World: Welcoming the Fall of Ben Ali

This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.

Looking at my Twitterfeed, one would think that the Arab world has been waiting for this day forever. Tweets celebrating the escape of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from Tunisia have created a riot online.

For Bader Al Aujan, from Saudi Arabia, it is a day of pride:

شكرًا شكرًا شكرًا أهلنا في تونس فما كان يخطر على بالي أن أعيش مثل هذا الشعور بالفخر والعزة والأنجاز
Thank you, thank you, thank you, to our relatives in Tunisia. I never thought that I would ever live this feeling of pride and achievement

And Saudi Mohammed Al Dugailbi is as happy:

أنا من زمان ما فرحت مثل هال فرحه ودي اوقف السيارة واسلم علي الي يمشون في الشارع تعيش تونس يعيش الشعب التونسي الحر الابي
I have not felt this happy in a very long time. I wish I could stop the car and shake hands with all those people walking on the street. Long live the free people of Tunisia

Dima Khatib draws parallels to the occupation or liberation of Iraq, and says:

I hope Mr George Bush is not too busy at his ranch to watch how people get truly liberated. Not with foreign greedy armies

Youssef Chaker urges Tunisians to go all the way:

, don't replace one dictator with another… Go the full mile and complete the job

From Bahrain, Hashim Alawi tweets:

الجبناء من يطالبوا بالحرية والتغيير والعظماء من يصنعوها على الارض .
Cowards are those who call for freedom and change. Great people do that on the ground.

Yacoub Slaise notes:

Hoping the Tunisians did their homework and read Animal Farm, so as not to end up with a “Napoleon”

And Bahrainman replies:

Tunisia had a “Napoleon”, and they just got rid of him. They LIVED Animal Farm for 23 years!

While Mahmood Al Yousif tells Tunisians to bask in the glory of their achievement, at least for a day:

do I detect buyer's remorse in some tweets now? that didn't take long! c'mon, smile and be optimists at least for today!

Majda72 also sends a special tweet:

Note to the West, this was not an Islamic uprising! Take your Arab world as monolith stereotype and shove it.

In what has become a Twitterised revolution, Egyptian writer Mona ElTahawy reminds us:

didn't cause . Daily protests of courageous did. Twitter gave us – the world – front row seat.

And Sameer Padania notes:

So looking forward to a day when a long-worked-for revolution happens & no one feels need to instantly claim it's due to the power of tech.

ElTahawy alsoadds:

In ‘ brave protests brought down , dictator of 23 yrs. 1st real post-colonial revolution in world

Ahmad Fahad, from Oman, cannot take his mind off Twitter:

How am I supposed to work while governments are being overthrown live on Twitter?

And Andy Carvin adds:

I just love how the conversation on just shifted to people reading the Tunisian constitution in great detail.

Egyptian Ahmad Badawy hopes that what had started in Tunisia does not end there. He tweets:

يابن علي قول لأخوك . شعب مصر بيكرهوك
Ben Ali, tell your brother (Mubarak) that the people of Egypt hate him.

Stay tuned for more coverage from Tunisia.

This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.

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