Most notably, in 1979 there was the revolutionary movement in Iran that led to the removal of the Shah. In 1984, in response to food shortages created by International Monetary Fund (IMF) austerity measures, the people of Tunisia began the “bread riots”. A few years later, in Algeria, similar IMF measures and increasing poverty led to the ‘couscous protests’. In Jordan, protests against IMF “conditionalities” led to a small opening up of the government. And more recently still, in southern Egypt, around 4,000 people joined in protest against state and police brutality in response to the beating and subsequent death of Khaled Mohammed Said on June 6, 2010.
What we have been hearing and reading about since December 2010 is indeed a new development; it represents a recognition of the current economic reality, and a milestone in building a more democratic society. “Breaking the barrier of fear is an incremental process that takes time. But with democracy we will have no fear,” said Mohamed El Baradei, an Egyptian activist and politician with significant popular support.
In Tunisia, several catalysts had a part in the transition of the country’s movement from demonstration to revolution. 
These are moments and actions that inspired people beyond the typical “radicals” to join in and make themselves heard. These include the release of secret Tunisian state information via WikiLeaks and, shortly afterwards, the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in a final statement against the economic oppression by the Tunisian regime of the Tunisian people. These proximal causes sparked a cycle of protest, repression, and escalation that gathered more and more Tunisians together in the streets to demand the departure of president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the focal point of state power in Tunisia.
Over the course of a few weeks, the wave of revolts in North Africa grew from small protests in Tunisia in support of Bouazizi, to several million people occupying Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt -what has been called a “living breathing example of real democracy.” In Tahrir Square people of all kinds lived together for several weeks, creating an ad-hoc city-within-a-city. From there, the revolt has extended to multiple sites of protest in Iran, Bahrain, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and beyond. Each area is taking inspiration from others, and applying external lessons to their particular situation, and using tailored strategies to show their discontent - like the silent marches in Iran. They also included many groups who are often excluded or who do not participate in protest movements.
In Cairo there were many women who stated that they felt equal among the men. Gigi Ibrahim wrote how she felt safe sleeping among men who she did not know, a radical change from the typical experience for women in Egypt. And there are other cases of women expressing a feeling of equality and shared experience with men, as Egyptians all working for a better future. There were instances of abuse, but the general atmosphere was remarkably different according to many women, who took integral roles in the development and continuation of the revolutionary process.
In Tunisia, lawyers participated in protests en masse, enrobed and enraged at political repression, lack of human rights, and unemployment. During a demonstration in December, lawyers were “beaten, chased, and insulted.” Subsequently, lawyers went on strike and approximately ninety-five percent of the 8,000 took to the streets again in solidarity with amassing students, trade unionists, and others.
These movements are perhaps the most acknowledged cry of the people’s voice that the region has heard. They are a nascent exploration of the agency of a people, and in that exploration they find communities and connections, learn to smile, and create possibility and opportunity. People are acting as though they are free and so becoming free. In Egypt, Tunisia, and the rest of the Middle East and North Africa the distinction between radicals and workers, teachers, journalists, students, and others is breaking down. They are all humans, sharing a place, working together towards a vision.
What does all this mean for us living in Canada? Can we see ourselves in these occurrences abroad?
The issues that brought Egyptians into the streets are also important here in Canada. Economic globalization has increased inequality and poverty in Canada as well as in Egypt, and rising food costs are a global phenomenon. Currently food prices are at record highs. Canada is a net exporter of food and so is somewhat shielded from this, but as inequality increases, the growing number of people who are below the poverty line here will still feel its effects.
Although the Canadian government is more accountable to the public than the governments in Tunisia, Egypt, and other countries experiencing protest, it still supports various dictators, including Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. The Canadian government also denies ordinary people a voice in important decisions that affect them, like trade negotiations, industrial projects like the Alberta Tar Sands, and economic policy like austerity measures.
The government also enforces these decisions violently, like at the recent G20 summit in Toronto. And although our society is more tolerant and egalitarian than in many Arab nations, racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of oppression remain in every aspect of our society. Merely defining ourselves as “better than” some other place is to resign ourselves to the belief that a certain level of inequality is somehow acceptable.
What do the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt have to offer us then? They show that it is possible to create something new and meaningfully different. These movements are a condemnation of the apathy we in Canada address our government, and they are a call to take action to prevent Canada from further supporting such regimes or pursuing similar policies.
I am sure we can all relate to a desire to get out of poverty, to better our communities, to see those we care about and love have a better life. What these movements show us, give us plain evidence of, is the ability to actualize those desires, to see them come into our reality. In Tunisia, one man’s actions catalysed a movement that has seen the oppressive structures that he hated begin to collapse. Even in the most dire situations we have the ability to challenge political structures.
How do we do challenge these structures? We begin to organize to create the communities we wish to be a part of. These movements began with mutual support and a unification of the people: radicals with workers, lawyers with teachers and students. The people in power here and around the world count on our fragmentation and divisions. We saw the people living and working near Tahrir Square supporting and joining the protesters, and those in the suburbs allowing people to sleep in their homes, use their washrooms, and eat their food. What we have seen is that even in complete resignation and despair, people have found a way to make themselves heard.
Let us see our similarities across all borders, social, economic, political, religious, ideological - and begin to work together to support each other for our mutual benefit, empowerment, and growth.
Author's note: Extensive references available if requested.
