“Trust is thrust!” by Ilyes Rekhis

Imagine dwelling with people whom you don’t trust and whose words you can never believe, nor can they rely on you due to their incessant skepticism, living in a place where tension never comes to a halt.

How do you think that would lead your life to be?

Unbearable, right?

Just the thought of not having anyone whom you can confide your secrets to or even share your basic personal information with is frightening. Let alone a whole country in which individuals see each other as a great source of danger; wolves looking around for prey.

This is what has been happening in Tunisian since its Revolution in 2011. After all the brutality they’d gone through under Ben Ali’s rule, youth foresaw a less corrupt country and a more promising future. It was indeed promising: the people obtained the rights they forever craved and the government has been going through thorough democratization.

But to what extent? Are Tunisians happy with the current situation?

Infact, 64% of Tunisians don’t have faith in the government’s “war on corruption” *: one of the major reasons for which the current legislature was elected. And the number never ceases skyrocketing as the government consistently breaks its promises, provides poor public services, and barely fulfills its responsibilities.

Imagine living in a country where the criminal justice system is so unfair that you’re sentenced to 31 years imprisonment on drug use charges while being convicted of raping and killing a woman would cost you only 17 years in jail. Isn’t that beyond belief!?

Worse still, police brutality has recently re-emerged with myriad repression cases being claimed by victims who solely fought for their fundamental rights and whose families are now not only threatened and traumatized but also at the mercy of cops’ power abuse.

Taxation, equally, resulted in issues whose repercussions have been increasing over the years. The dearth of transparency has led people to question the routes through which money goes, and many organizations to start their investigations in this matter. This has, thus, unveiled tremendous thefts, lack of traceability of money and even worse, many politicians’ involvement in money laundering and tax evasion, which has fueled people’s revolutionary thoughts, and broken the mere trust that had existed between individuals and institutions.

Many have decided to follow the leaders and not to pay taxes anymore, hence, a substantial problem appeared. Getting hold of little taxation amounts, the government can’t sustain its citizens’ basic needs; from a good education quality to enhancing parks. Many get

marginalized by their own country, feel, therefore, unvalued and sheer alienated ergo lose the meaning of life, get involved in unpeaceful movements of vandalism and brainwashed with in-extremist groups: Another burdening scourge on the government!

We admit that fixing a broken vase would never take it back to its initial state but what if tomorrow Tunisians celebrated the “Good Citizen” day; paid their taxes and endeavored to abate the extant turmoil… Would that engender -at least- a minimal change?

*According to Carnegie Data, Research Conducted on Tunisians between July, and August2017

By Ilyes Rekhis

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