Tunisian mans sets himself on fire in response to economic hopelessness.
A Tunisian cigarette vendor set himself on fire to protest growing unemployment in the capital city of Tunis, Mar. 12, according to the AFP.
As he lit his clothes on fire the man shouted “This is Tunisia, this is unemployment,” bystanders reported.
Police and bystanders rushed to extinguish the flames but the man was severely burned. In the ambulance on route to the hospital he said “Allahu Akbar! (God is the greatest!),” according to Reuters.
Reuters reports that the man, who later died in the hospital, was in his 20s.
Tunisia has experienced a slew of similar incidents of self-immolation and suicide as the country’s economic and political instability deepened.
In 2010, Tunisian fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest hopeless economic instability. His death sparked protests nationwide igniting the Tunisian revolution and leading to the overthrow of then President Zine el Abidine ben Ali.
Tunisia’s economic troubles have continued under the new government, however. The city of Sidi Bouzid erected a statue commemorating Bouazizi and today the nation regards him as a hero, yet high unemployment persists.
At the time of Bouazizi’s death unemployment in the country was 13 percent according to the National Institute of Statistics.
Though unemployment in Tunisia has improved since the 2012 high of 18 percent, it remains around 16 percent.
Tunisiana lawmakers are set to vote in a new government March 12.
