IT BEGAN in Tunisia with a young man who set himself and, perhaps unknowingly, the region on fire. Mohamed Bouazizi was the spark that lit the Middle East and led to an organic and peaceful movement to overthrow the oppressive regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Ben Ali's regime was notorious for its corruption, poor living conditions and lack of freedom of speech. The self-immolation and subsequent death of Bouazizi against the backdrop of social and political unrest precipitated demonstrations across the country. Organized and coordinated through Facebook, they lasted for about a month and led to the ousting of the unpopular president.
The story hardly ends there, however. Since the success of the Tunisian revolution, a number of demonstrations with similar aims have risen across the Middle East in Egypt, Iran, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya and Jordan, among other countries. In Egypt, there was another successful revolution in which the movement largely accomplished its goals of removing President Hosni Mubarak and setting in motion a progression toward free elections in the near future. Mubarak, who seemed firmly planted and adamant that he would not be another Ben Ali, eventually relinquished power after protests that lasted just shy of twenty days. He did so after a number of desperate attempts at quelling the unrest through shutting down the Internet, shuffling around a new government and using force against civilians and journalists.
The fate of the other movements hangs in the balance as the world watches and waits, especially as Libya's stab at revolution has escalated into warfare between rebel armies and supporters of Colonel Muammar al-Qadhafi, the current leader of Libya. The protests, inspired by the unrest sweeping the region, began in the city of Benghazi and quickly spread to the capital city of Tripoli. Colonel Qadhafi reacted to the peaceful and unarmed demonstrations with a quick and bloody hand. As the death toll continues to climb with fighter jets, live ammunition and rocket attacks against the rebels, what began as a peaceful call for a change in regime and the establishment of basic civil liberties has turned into what appears to be a lopsided civil war. Meanwhile, the international community continues to debate the best course of action to protect Libyan civilians.
This new era in the Middle East is emerging as a break from the corrupt and authoritarian regimes that have dominated the region's politics for the past fifty years. Through these turbulent times, many, including the White House, are grappling for a position on the recent events. People wonder if this is an Islamist revolution and whether the United States' interests still will be protected in the Middle East. This becomes especially important as the already unstable region sits on a hefty percentage of the world's oil supply. Many ask, "Can the Middle East handle democracy?" Or will it lead to a more volatile region? As a nation, will we fall on the wrong side of history?
These are all recurring questions that have dominated the narrative of the revolutions as they play out in American media sources. Perhaps an equally important perspective to consider, however, is the profound essence of the revolutions. While it is doubtful that anyone can say definitively what the political landscape of the Middle East will look like in the future, it is clear that it has forever changed.
For decades, the people of the Middle East yielded to strong dictators. Yet since the successful ousting of corrupt leaders in both Tunisia and Egypt, the protests have not ceased. People continue to pour out into the streets in demonstrations, showing the world that they have not removed one dictator to watch another assume his place. This is the kind of call for change that one cannot help but admire and support. It is a call for a shift to democracy as a government of the people, for the people and by the people.
For many Middle Easterners, this wave of revolution represents a resilient spirit that has been dormant for far too long. These are revolutions led by the youth as they seek to transform the world they live in, create better opportunities for themselves and be heard. These revolutions have stretched across many of the lines that have long divided the Middle East according to social and economic status, religion and ethnicity. This is a universal theme that all can relate to, as well as something we hold dear as Americans. It is, at its core, the ability to unite and rise up against threats to our freedoms, as individuals and as a collective.
Dalia Deak is the President of the Middle Eastern Leadership Council. The Minority Rights Coalition column appears bi-weekly on Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily.
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