The Jasmine Revolution

    This is the first of five blog posts in a project called "You and the World." In this project we will be choosing a current topic or issue that we care about. Along with writing blogs, we will be debating over other people's issues, and writing a speech.

    I have chosen the revolts in the Middle East as my topic, because I think that it is one of the more important events of our time. It seems similar to the countries of Europe overthrowing their monarchies.

    The revolutions are called the Sidi Bouzid Revolt, or the Jasmine Revolution. It started in Tunisia when a street vender named Mohammed Buazizi set himself on fire, in a demonstration against the treatment he received from the government after they confiscated his scale, which he needed to support his family. this led to a series of protests that resulted in the Tunisian Prime Minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali stepping down from a post he held for 34 years. This eventually led to a similar series of protests in Egypt that led to their leader Hosni Mubarak stepping down, and an ongoing rebellion in Libya. I believe this is incredibly important, because for the first time, the people in the middle east are refusing to put up with the oppression they have lived with for so long. In interesting thing about these protests is that most of the protesters are very young, and it makes me wonder if our generation will continue to rebel against the things they see as wrong, like what has happened in the middle east.

    What I wonder about is whether or not this will lead to protests in other countries, and whether these protests (if they do happen) will be more or less peaceful, or a rebellion like in Libya.

    What I will explore in my next blog post is the protests in Egypt, and what factors caused the protests to be successful in Egypt and Tunisia.

Bibliography:

 - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/14/AR2011011405084.html

 - http://www.iar-gwu.org/node/257