SIDI BOUZID, Tunisia — It’s been five years since Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire outside the municipal building in Sidi Bouzid, a small town in the heart of Tunisia. While his act had profound international repercussions at the time, some residents say little has changed in their town.
Fed up with a lack of economic opportunity and years of harassment by corrupt police, street vendor Bouazizi made a desperate cry for help on Dec. 17, 2010, and died 18 days later in a hospital. His act led to protests that helped oust President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, paving the way for an immediate and fairly peaceful democratic transition. It also helped inspire a whole region to stand up against dictatorships in the Arab Spring.