Solidarity Actions to Support the Economy
28 January 2011
Read by 1818 persons
Many actions are being implemented by the diaspora to help Tunisians affected by the crisis. A way to revive the economy.
How to help Tunisians who remained in the country? Within the Tunisian diaspora, the question keeps arising. In the aftermath of the fall of President Ben Ali, solidarity began to take shape. For now, actions are still under development, a few days after the Jasmine Revolution.
"The security situation makes access to certain areas of the country difficult," notes Mohsen Zemni, president of the Association of Tunisians of France, one of the largest associations of Tunisians in France. The central and western regions of Tunisia are particularly isolated. Due to security problems, the delivery of food is not done properly. Tourist regions, such as Tunis, Sfax or Sousse, seem to be spared.
"The most affected people are daily workers. For a month, they have been unemployed," notes the Tunisian Association for Family Support, Yessrine, based in Tunisia. This association, which normally deals with children's schooling, now provides emergency aid to the most affected families located in Kasserine, Sidi Bouzid and in the west of the country, where the protests were most intense.
Solidarity Concert
The Tunisian Red Crescent calls on its website to finance essential needs such as food, blankets, warm clothes or first-aid kits. In Lyon, the association "Les Ambassadeurs du Jasmin" launched a collection from January 25 of non-perishable food items. Mohsen Zemni alerted the Tunisian community in Paris. Teams should be sent to Tunisia to distribute the collected food in the most remote areas of the country.
On January 31, Action Tunisienne is organizing a support concert at the Elysée Montmartre in Paris to help victims (injured, disabled, etc.), in collaboration with the Red Crescent, which is not used to this kind of situation. For a long time, the organization worked as an auxiliary to the public authorities, in coordination with the Ministry of Health.
Giving a boost to the economy
"The situation in Tunisia is not a classic emergency situation. There is no war, there are no displaced people. We need to review all the models we know," notes Jean-Michel Monod, regional delegate to the Maghreb for the ICRC, present in Tunisia to monitor the detention conditions of prisoners.
Even if some populations have real needs, the crisis is not humanitarian, but social. And the aim of the associations is above all to give a boost to the economy. "We must not forget that the number one factor in the crisis was the unemployment rate of young graduates, which reaches 30%," recalls Jean-Michel Monod.
According to Samira Kammoum, president of the Yessrine association, "money is needed to enable businesses to develop and encourage the relaunch of the country's small economy."
Solidarity Stays
Some actors have therefore opted for solidarity tourism, through the creation of "Solidarity Stays". The tourism sector represents 6.5% of Tunisia's GDP and employs more than 11% of the active population. It has been at a standstill since the beginning of the events.
The operation was launched on January 24 by Samir Bouzidi, editor and founder of the Tunisiens du monde website. "We encourage Tunisians from the diaspora to all return in February, for a maximum of two weeks," he explains. For the occasion, TunisAir, the national airline, is lowering its prices and relaxing baggage allowances. The operation has recently been extended to cruise ships.
"We want to compensate for the losses in the tourism sector (each day of demonstration costs 200,000 dinars in lost revenue for the country, editor's note). And then," he admits, "we want to see the urban landscape of Tunis, without the portraits, without the purple. We want to see this new Tunisia."
Published January 28, 2011
Posted online January 28, 2011
youphil.com
How to help Tunisians who remained in the country? Within the Tunisian diaspora, the question keeps arising. In the aftermath of the fall of President Ben Ali, solidarity began to take shape. For now, actions are still under development, a few days after the Jasmine Revolution.
"The security situation makes access to certain areas of the country difficult," notes Mohsen Zemni, president of the Association of Tunisians of France, one of the largest associations of Tunisians in France. The central and western regions of Tunisia are particularly isolated. Due to security problems, the delivery of food is not done properly. Tourist regions, such as Tunis, Sfax or Sousse, seem to be spared.
"The most affected people are daily workers. For a month, they have been unemployed," notes the Tunisian Association for Family Support, Yessrine, based in Tunisia. This association, which normally deals with children's schooling, now provides emergency aid to the most affected families located in Kasserine, Sidi Bouzid and in the west of the country, where the protests were most intense.
Solidarity Concert
The Tunisian Red Crescent calls on its website to finance essential needs such as food, blankets, warm clothes or first-aid kits. In Lyon, the association "Les Ambassadeurs du Jasmin" launched a collection from January 25 of non-perishable food items. Mohsen Zemni alerted the Tunisian community in Paris. Teams should be sent to Tunisia to distribute the collected food in the most remote areas of the country.
On January 31, Action Tunisienne is organizing a support concert at the Elysée Montmartre in Paris to help victims (injured, disabled, etc.), in collaboration with the Red Crescent, which is not used to this kind of situation. For a long time, the organization worked as an auxiliary to the public authorities, in coordination with the Ministry of Health.
Giving a boost to the economy
"The situation in Tunisia is not a classic emergency situation. There is no war, there are no displaced people. We need to review all the models we know," notes Jean-Michel Monod, regional delegate to the Maghreb for the ICRC, present in Tunisia to monitor the detention conditions of prisoners.
Even if some populations have real needs, the crisis is not humanitarian, but social. And the aim of the associations is above all to give a boost to the economy. "We must not forget that the number one factor in the crisis was the unemployment rate of young graduates, which reaches 30%," recalls Jean-Michel Monod.
According to Samira Kammoum, president of the Yessrine association, "money is needed to enable businesses to develop and encourage the relaunch of the country's small economy."
Solidarity Stays
Some actors have therefore opted for solidarity tourism, through the creation of "Solidarity Stays". The tourism sector represents 6.5% of Tunisia's GDP and employs more than 11% of the active population. It has been at a standstill since the beginning of the events.
The operation was launched on January 24 by Samir Bouzidi, editor and founder of the Tunisiens du monde website. "We encourage Tunisians from the diaspora to all return in February, for a maximum of two weeks," he explains. For the occasion, TunisAir, the national airline, is lowering its prices and relaxing baggage allowances. The operation has recently been extended to cruise ships.
"We want to compensate for the losses in the tourism sector (each day of demonstration costs 200,000 dinars in lost revenue for the country, editor's note). And then," he admits, "we want to see the urban landscape of Tunis, without the portraits, without the purple. We want to see this new Tunisia."
Published January 28, 2011
Posted online January 28, 2011
youphil.com
