Interviews with Zied Mhirsi

The question of is it homegrown, or spontaneous or basically imported from other models is something that a lot of people would ask in Tunisia, especially those who were not monitoring the situation. My reading of the situation is that it was definitely homegrown but not only in the 28 days of the revolution. That was the last episode. I think that it´s something that shows that these people in Tunisia, basically the people of Tunisia know what´s best for them. If you look at the history of the country it´s definitely a stable, nice, secure and very Mediterranean country, but also used to very abrupt changes.

If you think we were Carthaginians [Carthage was an ancient civilization located in what is now Tunisia from 650 BC to 146 BC, when it was conquered by the Roman Empire. Carthage controlled much of the Mediterranean.] and all of a sudden we became Romans. And the Romans thrived in Tunisia and became part of the empire. And then we became Christians. And then we became Christian and we gave two popes and translated the Bible into Latin.

This is where it happens in Carthage, and gave St. Augustine to the world and influenced a lot the Christian world and the Western world. All of a sudden then the Muslims came. But with the same people became Muslims. And a lot of Islamic civilization also changed the course of history. And at some point also we became colonized by the Turks. And Turks were the rulers. And then we became French. And then we became independent. And one ruler ruled the country from ´56 to ´87, [Habib] Bourguiba [founder and first president of the Republic of Tunisia]. And then in one day [Former Tunisian President Zine el Abidine] Ben Ali took power. And people were okay with that.

So it´s long episodes of very stable and organized way of life. And then abrupt changes that happen really fast. Ben Ali´s rule was on the decline. We could see it. We could sense it. And it happened at some point that we got the last drop of patience was gone. And everyone decided in the same time that it was time to change. So I don´t think it was important. I don´t think it was organized. And that´s why it succeeded. Because as I said, Ben Ali´s regime was really well managed.

The dictatorship was very well managed. The system was functioning. And only something like this that was empowered definitely by social media allowed every single Tunisian to change his mind in the same time. And that´s what happened. And say, “It´s enough.” I think that´s what everybody said at some point. Because everyone would not agree with certain points but wouldn´t trade everything they had and pay a high price. But I think at some point there was no way we could continue under that system and ruled by someone who basically was not worth it, I think.

In 2004, Dr. Zied Mhirsi became a pioneer in Tunisia’s pre-revolutionary blogosphere, and used his blog, Zizou From Djerba, as a platform to express ideas, opinions, and experiences. He soon engaged others in the blogosphere on policy debates about topics like education, agriculture, and the environment. Initially, the Internet was one of the few venues for Tunisians to express themselves without being harassed by government authorities. As the regime of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali became more aware of the blogosphere’s ability to influence society, bloggers like Mhrisi became targets of censorship and persecution.

As a student studying in the United States, Mhirsi became involved in Tunisian radio and through his broadcasts, informed Tunisians about world events. When he returned to his homeland, Mhirsi remained active in radio and used it to promote the use of social media. This concept transformed into a weekly political show that featured voices from the Tunisian blogosphere prior to the 2010 uprising. Since the revolution, Mhirsi has worked extensively with international media analyzing the post-revolution political situation, working with outlets such as CNN, Al Jazeera English, 60 Minutes, CBS News, the New York Times, and the Financial Times, to produce news stories, documentaries, and other shows. In March 2011, Mhirsi co-founded Tunisia Live, the first Tunisian English-language news website. Tunisia Live is viewed by more than 100,000 visitors every month and serves as the main Tunisian news platform for English speakers.

In addition to his media activities, Mhirsi is a global health professional whose public health career focuses primarily on strengthening health systems to combat HIV/AIDS and other serious diseases.

Twitter: @zizoo

Blog: http://www.zizoufromdjerba.com/

Website: http://www.tunisia-live.net/