The Street Vendor Who Changed the World

The day is December 17, 2010. In the bustling square of Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, a simple street vendor by the name of Mohammed Bouazizi set out for another day’s work. For seven years, he had sold vegetables from a street cart, making around 10 dinars a day (the equivalent of around $7) to support his mother, uncle, siblings, and pay for his sister’s university fees. While he was only 26 years of age, Mohammed had been working since he was around 10, and never even graduated high school. His life’s goal, at least for the moment, was to save up enough money to buy a pick-up truck, which would make his work a lot easier. He was loved by most in Sidi Bouzid, for he frequently gave some of his produce to the poorest families in the town totally free of charge.

Mohammed, and many others in Tunisia, had been tormented by police forces all his life. They would frequently confiscate his cart of produce, citing he held no license to sell from a street card. However, no such license existed; it wasn’t illegal to sell from a street cart. But of course, the corrupt regime that held its iron fist over Tunisia paid of no mind to the constant turmoil it put Mohammed and the rest of Tunisia’s youth through.

But on December 17th, Mohammed decided that enough was enough. His cart was once again confiscated by the police, but worse still, the officer who confiscated it also decided to slap Mohammed, spit at him, insult his father (who died when Mohammed was only three of a heart attack), and have her aids beat him to the ground. Outraged, Mohammed stormed over to the governor’s building and demanded to meet with him to tell them about the police brutality. They refused to see him. Why would they see him, anyway? He was simply common riffraff, a lowly street vendor. What could he do? Well, he did the only thing he could do in the face of so much injustice on a day to day basis; Mohammed doused himself in gasoline and set himself alight, right in front of the local government office.

He was quickly taken to the hospital, but his act of defiance did not go unnoticed in Sidi Bouzid. Within hours, the members of the town were protesting against the Tunisian authorities for the unfair treatment of Mohammed. The dictator of Tunisia, Ben Ali, deployed troops to quell the protests (for that is the only thing totalitarian regiemes know how to do) which only helped to fuel the burning fire that had been ready to spark for decades. By the time of Mohammed’s death in the hospital on January 4th, the protests had spread far past just Sidi Bouzid. They had even reached the capital of Tunisia, Tunis. They grew and grew, until eventually Ben Ali was forced to leave the country on January 14th. And rest is, quite literally, history.

Today, March 29th, Mohammed Bouazizi would have turned 27. Instead, he simultaneously set himself and the torch of freedom alight. His act of self immolation may have ended his life, but it freed the lives of millions of others. Bouazizi is already a symbol amongst the brave revolutionaries in the Arab world, but it’s time we honour him as well. So today, I ask you all to honour the legacy of Mohammed Bouazizi, and remember that no matter how meager you may think you appear, you can still change the world.