The Tunisian Way
Article Summary and Author Biography
Thirty-SEVEN years of fighting, thirty-three years of Destourian leadership, ten years of independence: a propitious moment to draw up a balance sheet, to illuminate the ideas behind our actions. When I go back in my mind to the 1930s, and compare the Tunisia of those days with Tunisia now, I am filled with optimism and rejoice to think of what my country and my people will be by the end of this century, or even before. Colonized, humiliated, crushed by centuries of decadence and anarchy, their resources exploited by a foreign minority who tried to assimilate them and destroy their identity, the Tunisians responded to my call and became one man, to face a long, hard and unequal struggle. Finally, they won, and in victory gained not only the dignity of independence but also the necessary conditions for progress and development. We find in that struggle legitimate reasons to be proud, a source of inspiration and proof of the effectiveness of our approach.
Author Interview
Stephen Cook and Jared Cohen answer questions about the protests in Tunisia.
Thirty-seven years of fighting, thirty-three years of Destourian leadership, ten years of independence: a propitious moment to draw up a balance sheet, to illuminate the ideas behind our actions. When I go back in my mind to the 1930s, and compare the Tunisia of those days with Tunisia now, I am filled with optimism and rejoice to think of what my country and my people will be by the end of this century, or even before. Colonized, humiliated, crushed by centuries of decadence and anarchy, their resources exploited by a foreign minority who tried to assimilate them and destroy their identity, the Tunisians responded to my call and became one man, to face a long, hard and unequal struggle. Finally, they won, and in victory gained not only the dignity of independence but also the necessary conditions for progress and development. We find in that struggle legitimate reasons to be proud, a source of inspiration and proof of the effectiveness of our approach.
After years of impoverishment and occupation, the first task was to rescue the country from its torpor, awaken it, make it see the causes of its weakness and the possibilities of achieving a real élan. I established direct contact with the people by founding a newspaper, surrounding myself with a team of young intellectuals and organizing public meetings, in spite of official bans. This remains today a fundamental part of my method.
That method arises out of a deep faith in man, the reasonableness and creativity which he will show once he becomes aware of his individual worth and of the common interest binding him to his fellow citizens and transcending his selfish concerns. I have always felt that the fault lies not with men, but with their education, their way of looking at things, their mental framework-and these can be changed for the better by dint of intelligent and persistent effort. In spite of the disproportionate forces we confronted, the strategy we adopted in 1934 was to be fruitful. Neo- Destourism succeeded in breaking two archaic tendencies which for decades had failed to advance the national cause one iota: the sterile verbalizing of some and the intransigent extremism of others...
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