Report

Tunisia is a country the size of Florida precariously situated between Libya and Algeria on the North coast of Africa. It has 9 million inhabitants and is part of the belt of Arab states extending over North Africa to Egypt. I spent three month in Tunisia as an intern with the NGO Women for a Sustainable Development, a member organization of IUCN. I soon came to realize that Tunisia is a different Arab state. A state on far removed from the traditionalist societies of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Libya. Walking the streets of Tunis was not too different from walking the street in Marseilles or any other Western Mediterranean city. Men and women in western dress. The adult population in Italian style, the young women emulating Britney Spears, and the boys in American street look. Only the older population was wearing traditional Arab clothing.

What is the reason for this occidentalisation? My three month was defined by the observation and discovery of dimensions of the tension and negotiotion between the modern and the traditional. Now, the clash between the modern world, the product of the European enlightenment and the traditional collectivist society not too far removed from the medieval society is the big issue these days. As the title of a popular books puts it, it is Jihad vs. McWorld. The uniqueness of Tunisia is that it does present a modus vivendi for both Muslim tradition and western liberalism. It is therefore is, for those who hope for a rapprochement between the two cultures, a gaze in to a possible future of the Arab world. The history of Tunisia is necessary for any understanding of it’s present state (it also explains both what preoccupied my mind during my stay). First of all there is the history of Tunisia or Cartage as it has also been known as. This has been the most important trading post of North Africa and has therefore also been the most progressive and international Secondly, and more importantly, the first pre/colonial ruler Bourgiba introduced a set of modern reforms including equal rights for women on most domains early in his rule. The country is still working on the integration of its progressive constitution into its communal consciousness.

A particularly interesting time was the two weeks I spent travelling in to the South of Tunisia. Leaving to coast meant leaving the developed part of Tunisia and travelling backwards in time to the poor backland of harsh climate and poverty. I drove through deserts and visited salt lakes and Oasis. I saw mirages and the giant orange desert sun setting over the beautiful, treacherous desert. Here the people were dressed in traditional Arab clothes. And with good reason, sand was everywhere and sun was scorching. The turban or headscarf provided necessary protection. There were virtually no women in the street. Arab men take great honor in controlling their wives. Not being able to control your wife makes you a fool of the community. I met a lady of the organization who was an environmental engineer but who had been forced to work as a cleaning lady at a hotel for years. A painful illustration of the waste of human recourses it is not to count women as equal partners in development. That was the main task of the organization that I working for, the integration of women in development work. The lady showed me how water was managed in the Oases. She had a couple of acres of Oasis and was hoping that in a couple of years she would be able to make a living on her dates.

I left Tunisia with the feeling of realism concerning the future of Tunisia and the Arab world. The modernization of even the most modern of Muslim states was not deep and located around the coast. The inland was far from modernization in any of its meanings. The WCP greatly enhanced my understanding of global relations, and I look up on this experience as a great personal asset.

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