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Mohammed Bouazizi

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Mohamed Bouazizi, the fruit vendor whose death may have changed the Arab world

Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29, 1984 –January 4, 2011; Arabic: محمد البوعزيزي‎) was a Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire on December 17, 2010, in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the harassment and humiliation that he reported was inflicted on him by a municipal official and her aides. His act became a catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring, inciting demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country. The public’s anger and violence intensified following Bouazizi’s death, leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on 14 January 2011, after 23 years in power.

The success of the Tunisian protests sparked protests in several other Arab countries, plus several non Arab countries. The protests included several men who emulated Bouazizi’s act of self-immolation, in an attempt to bring an end to their own autocratic governments. Those men and Bouazizi were hailed by some Arab commentators as “heroic martyrs of a new Middle Eastern revolution.” In 2011, Bouazizi was jointly awarded the Sakharov Prize along with four others for their contributions to “historic changes in the Arab world”.

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