2008 Tunisian protests

Movement against Economic grievances and Unemployment March 2021 Location of Gafsa in Tunisia|200px|thumb The 2008 Gafsa strikes, also referred to as the Gafsa Social Movement, Gafsa events or the revolt in the Gafsa mining basin is an important social movement that shook the mining region of southwestern Tunisia—particularly the town of Redeyef, but also Moularès, Métlaoui, and Mdhilla—for nearly six months in 2008. These events took place in the phosphate-rich Gafsa mining basin, 350 kilometers southwest of Tunis, in a central region hard hit by unemployment and poverty. The protests were the most important social unrest known by Tunisia since the “bread riots” in 1983–84 and since the coming to power of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in 1987.Unemployed mobilisation in times of democratisation: the Union of Unemployed Graduates in post-Ben Ali Tunisia 13 November 2018 10.1080/13629387.2018.1535317 Taylor and Francis Online Weipert-Fenner Irene The Journal of North African Studies 25 53–75 150210259 free Protests The 2008 Gafsa movement included demonstrations, work stoppages, hunger strikes, sit-ins, and roadblocks of mining vehicles in protest against the crony capitalist regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and widespread poverty and unemployment in the area.Masri Safwan M. Tunisia : an Arab anomaly 2017 978-0-231-54502-0 New York 974992445 Riots erupted in small villages across mining areas, demanding an end to unemployment.Jean-Marie Lemaire Rim Mathlouti http://www.france24.com/en/20110215-reporters-tunisia-redeyef-gafsa-mining-phosphate-accusations-competition-rigged-ben-ali-supporters-protests-journalists Redeyef, the precursor of the Tunisian revolution France 24 15 February 2011 15 February 2011 An anti-government uprising erupted throughout mining towns and rural, poor areas across the country. Thousands protested against mining and poverty in Kasserine, Tataouine, Hammamet, Sfax and Tunis. The protests "paralyzed the industry," and as the Tunisian National Guard and the army were sent in, protesters called for an overall rebellion against president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.State violence and labor resistance: the 2008 Gafsa mining basin uprising and its afterlives November 26, 2018 The Centre for the Humanities https://www.centerforthehumanities.org/distributaries/state-violence-and-labor-resistance-the-2008-gafsa-mining-basin-uprising-and-its-afterlives The protests were met with live ammunition, tear gas, water cannons, and birdshot; such brutality was "so severe" and "entrenched" that "ordinary citizens sought revenge for it" afterward. It is often said that the 2008 Gafsa movement was the "spark" of the Tunisian Revolution.Tunisia's uprising was in three years in making Los Angeles Times 27 January 2011 Los Angeles Times https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2011-jan-27-la-fg-tunisia-uprising-20110127-story.htmlUnrest in Tunisia: Another turning point in a legacy of economic injustice January 28, 2018 Brookings https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/01/29/unrest-in-tunisia-another-turning-point-in-a-legacy-of-economic-injustice/Tunisia Discontent Reflected in Protests That Have Idled Mines The New York Times 14 May 2014 New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/world/africa/tunisian-discontent-reflected-in-protests-that-have-idled-mines.html Media Footage of the protests Footage of the protests 2 References Category:2008 protests Category:Protests in Tunisia Category:Gafsa Governorate Category:Labor disputes in Tunisia