#Revolution
Arab Spring, Domino Effect, Twitter Revolution: That's how we see it...
by Davide Galati and Antonella Sinopoli
Freedom is extremely important for human beings.
The real revolution, I think, took place in Tunisia.
I admired the courage of these guys,
and I respect them a lot for what they did.
In a very undemocratic country such as this
Is difficult to find the strength to march and protest.
In Tunisia getting rid of Ben Ali was almost impossible.
It wasn't easy because everything had to change.
Before, Ben Ali was untouchable.
People were tired of a fake democracy.
Revolution really changed everything.
In other countries, I think, Europe pushed for changes
because of economic interest, for instance in Libya.
Everybody knows that oil caused the war, even if no one says it.
Why the war? Libya was a nice place to live in.
Not many Libyans live abroad, because Libya is nice country.
Instead, in countries like Somalia
people suffer hunger and poverty; there people live miserably.
But nobody moves a finger.
Our revolution spread in the whole Middle East,
first in Egypt, then in Libya, a radical change took place.
To a certain extent, the Tunisian revolution helped other countries to understand
that protesting and marching on the streets is important.
These revolts can help other countries,
they can be seen as a model to imitate.
Now, in Senegal, here and there something takes place, not a revolution,
but still, we are fighting against changes in our constitutional law.
Constitution cannot be changed simply with a referendum.
It's not possible because, as I said before, our culture is different.
Yes, we have different cultures, we don' t have the same kind of courage.
We are not inspired like them.
We prefer peace and quiet. We want to be left alone.
We see what happened in Congo,
and in other countries near Cameroon.
And we don't want to end up like them.
So, we prefer the status quo: it's easier.
We survive and we get food on our tables.
Future is hard to predict, really hard...
...but we can accept that.
In Morocco there is no revolution. There was some protest, some loose movement.
But there is no revolution because people lives comfortably.
They feel that changes are happening all around,
and for this reason they don't want the revolution there,
although they ask for some constitutional changes,
which recently have been approved by the King.
I believe 98% of the people voted Yes.
Whoever you meet these days, in Italy or in Morocco,
will say for sure that in Morocco life is very good,
that the King is astonishing, first-class,
that the economy is improving, everything is terrific.
So there is no need for a revolution.
Unfortunately, it's not true. If in Morocco everything can be bought and everything can be sold as well.
So there is no need for a Constitution, no need for women's rights
since parents, sons, husband can buy all women's rights.
They can buy them with their own money.
It seems that 70% of the population voted and 99% chose Yes.
99% is always a magic number in Arab countries.
A search for "Movement 20 February" on YouTube, every Sunday,
because still now, people take it to the streets on Sundays.
The number of people protesting is incredible.
So, you have to ask yourself about that 99%? Did it fall from the sky?
In Morocco, the national TV ignores any protest, any hardship.
Not even Al Jazeera mentions them. Al Jazeera is not doing a good job there.
I think that Morocco... has been the most clever country so far.
Elections and Constitutional changes promoted by the King,
In fact, no substantial change took place.
It's a joke. I am from Morocco, and I think it's a mockery.
Morocco is not yet ready, it needs to grow to become aware of the situation.
There is a movement that is doing something,
but is not enough.
Sadly, Moroccan politicians are too sharp, too clever.
They are able to exploit tools and media (like TV)
to convince the public opinion to support their regime.
Also, for the older generation is almost impossible
to imagine a Morocco without a King.
I think that more than 50% of Tunisian revolution is due to the Internet.
Internet was paramount as a communication tool,
to ensure the success of this revolution.
And this time social networks played a crucial role
also because these revolts were promoted mostly by young people.
I followed the events on the Net, calling my family, on Facebook...
... then on newspapers and Al Jazeera.
There is a feeling that they are speaking the truth, and indeed people trust Al Jazeera.
TV in general is manipulated, being owned by private groups,
that have profit in mind and inform only about what they like.
As for National TV, as we know, the government has its own agenda
regarding its own internal and foreign policy,
so State media are affected by this approach.
Instead, on the Net news sources are diversified.
For instance, on social networks young people in particular,
but also the general public, can share first-hand information.
Internet now is a communication medium
...that can immediately reach millions of people.
It can be a useful means, but we cannot give up the streets,
because the streets are the real thing,
where all the events organized online will eventually take place.
Today we interact mainly online.
It's inevitable, then, that if a revolution had to take place
that was the way to conjure up people, especially youngsters.
Because this movement included not only Tunisia or Egypt
but the whole Mediterranean and the Middle East are bound together.
We speak the same language, so we are all connected.
Facebook, Twitter, are the fastest and better way to exchange information.
The social unrest was shared, so the media had to be shared as well.
But I don't think that Facebook itself widened the revolt.
People must have been extremely distressed for something like this to happen.
The spark that ignited everything was the situation in Tunisia.
No one, nobody could have imagined what actually happened.
Everyone has the right to internet access,
and governments needs to understand this.
I went and I said that I would not be returned,
and wrote on all walls, that I would not be returned.
All barriers have collapsed,
our dreams were our weapons,
our future is clear, we waited a long time.
We are still looking for our place
We continue to look for the site to which we belong,
in every corner, in every country.
The call of freedom there is calling
from every street corner of our country
the call of freedom there is calling
Rewrite history
If you're one of us, join us
and does not prevent us from achieving our dreams.