Middle East
2011 Timeline of Protest, Revolution and Uprising
A year of change around the world, in Tweets. (in progress, not yet complete)
- To follow how the Arab Spring symbolically began, we must go back to the end of 2010
Tunisia: December 17th, Mohamed Bouazizi sets himself on fire in Tunisia after repeated harassment from police who confiscated his fruit and vegetable cart, claiming he didn’t have a permit. Bouazizi’s self-immolation is widely considered the event that help propel the Arab Spring into motion.Translation of Mohamed Bouazizi’s last message on his Facebook Wall:
http://omarkhayyam.blogsome.com/2010/12/22/last-message/
“I’m leaving, mom, I beg your pardon, any blame is useless, I am lost in a path out of my control, pardon me if I disobeyed you, blame our times, don’t blame me, I’m leaving forever, I’ll not be back, I am fed up crying without tears, blames are useless during these cruel times in this place, I’m tired and I forgot all about the past, I’m leaving while asking myself if my departure will help me forget”
December 24th, a protester named Mohamed Ammari is shot dead in Tunisia. - January 2011
Egypt: January 1st, 21 people die in a suspected al-Qaeda attack on a Coptic church in Alexandria. Tunisia: January 2nd, Internet group Anonymous hacks Tunsia’s government websites
Tunisia: January 5th, Mohamed Bouazizi dies. Many young people in Tunisia shared Bouazizi’s frustration with their government and in a show of solidarity over 5,000 joined in his funeral procession. Protests had already been forming in Tunisia prior to Bouazizi’s incident, but after they grew much larger.
Family of Mohamed Bouazizi, 26, of #Sidibouzid say he died on Tuesday night. His self-immolation inspired popular uprising in #Tunisia.
Lina Ben Mhenni: "There is a hidden tension that exploded with Mohamed Bouazizi's death" #Sidibouzid #France24- Egypt: January 7th, In a show of solidarity, Muslims attend Coptic Christmas mass and protect Christians from attacks.
- #Egypt's #Muslims attend #Coptic #Christmas mass, serving as "human shields" undefined via @Gsquare86 #Alexexplosions
Algeria: January 7th, people take to the streets to protest unemployment and rising food prices.
Tunisia: From January 8th to 10th, demonstrations grow more violent, dozens of protesters are killed.
Capturing Tunisia protests on videoFootage of key anti-government demonstrations being held across north African country. Last Modified: 05 Jan 2011 20:53 GMT Anti-governme...- Tunisia: January 13th, President Ben Ali promises to step down in 2014, but the protests grow so large and violent that Ali flees from Tunisia to Saudi Arabia the next day.
Ben Ali didn't even respect his own speech in 87 when he came to power, do you want us to believe his last speech as president? #sidibouzidAlgeria: January 14th, Mohsen Bouterfif self-immolates himself, frustrated with his inability to find a job.
- Libya and Tunisia: January 14th, In a televised address, Gaddafi expresses his condemnation of the Tunisian uprising.
Yemen: January 23, anti-government activist Tawakul Karman is arrested, leading to larger protest in Sana’a.
Egypt: January 25th, known as “The Day of Revolt” marks the start of protests calling for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down. Protests begin in Cairo but spread to cities like Alexandria. Protesters organize on Facebook and Twitter. In an attempt to stem the flow of information and organization over social networks, the Egyptian government briefly throttles access to Twitter inside Egypt, but is unblocked the next day.
