A jasmine seller makes machmoum, a small bouquet made of jasmine, in Tunis, Tunisia, Aug. 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Xu Supei)
"Food prices in Tunisia are very high. The working class has to provide for daily needs. We can't save money for the future," a part-time jasmine seller says. Tunisian inflation rose to 8.2 percent in July, highest in three decades.
by Xinhua writers Xu Supei, Ayten Laamar, Huang Ling
TUNIS, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing global decline in business, prolonged by the lingering COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, has been felt across almost all walks of life in Tunisia, even including the street flower sellers.
Mohamed Bouguerra, a man in his 40s, has been selling jasmine, the national flower of Tunisia, since 2015 in front of a well-known cafe in Monastir, a city on the central coast of the North African country. He told Xinhua that this is only a seasonal job that generates meager income.
During the rest of the year, he sells homemade bread baked by his elderly mother to make ends meet.
In addition, "because of my health condition, I can't walk from one place to another to earn more money," the Tunisian man sighed, sitting in his wheelchair.
In recent years, Bouguerra, along with many other jasmine sellers in Tunisia, has found it harder to get by. The pandemic brought inbound tourism almost to a standstill in 2020, before the Russia-Ukraine conflict drove the global energy and food prices high in 2022.
A jasmine seller promotes his machmoum, a small bouquet made of jasmine, in the town of Sidi Bou Said in Tunis, Tunisia, on June 14, 2022. (Xinhua/Xu Supei)
In May, Tunisia's central bank raised its key interest rate by 75 points to 7 percent to combat high inflation, which rose for the 10th straight month to 8.2 percent in July, the highest in three decades.
"The cost of living gets higher and life becomes harder. The government must seek solutions to curb the surging prices," Bouguerra warned.
For Mohsen Nsibi, a construction worker in his 50s, the part-time job of selling jasmine is as tough as enjoyable.
"I usually go to Gammarth beach in northern suburbs of the capital to sell jasmine to tourists. There, I can chat with my customers and make jokes," he told Xinhua.
Despite his optimism, Nsibi confessed that he has felt the squeeze even as a part-time seller.
"Food prices in Tunisia are very high. The working class has to provide for daily needs. We can't save money for the future," he said with a bitter smile.
Tunisians gather in central Tunis, Tunisia on Dec. 17, 2021 to mark the 11th anniversary of Jasmine Revolution, which broke out on Dec. 17, 2010. (Photo by Adel Ezzine/Xinhua)
Jasmine reminds people of the uprisings that broke out in Tunisia at the end of 2010. Through the campaign of civil resistance, which was later dubbed the Jasmine Revolution by the media, Tunisians overthrew long-time President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
For a long time, Tunisia was considered the "only successful democratic model" to emerge from the Arab Spring.
However, a recent survey published by the Arab Barometer, a research network targeting ordinary citizens across the Arab world, showed that Arabs are losing faith in the ability of the Western democracy to deliver economic stability across the Middle East and North Africa, especially in countries such as Tunisia, Lebanon and Iraq where elections have been the most meaningful over the past decade.
Tunisia's GDP per capita is still lower than it was in 2011. According to the survey, Tunisians are now 50 percentage points more likely to say democracy has limitations than they were a decade ago.
A Tunisian woman is seen in a gathering in central Tunis, Tunisia on Dec. 17, 2021 to mark the 11th anniversary of Jasmine Revolution, which broke out on Dec. 17, 2010. (Photo by Adel Ezzine/Xinhua)
Suspicion of the Western democracy has inevitably led to declining voter turnout. For the elections in Tunisia since 2011, participation dropped from a high of 68 percent in 2014 to 42 percent in 2019. In the latest constitutional referendum held on July 25, the turnout fell further to 30.5 percent.
"Everyone knows the Jasmine Revolution is named after Tunisia's national flower. Jasmine symbolizes serenity, purity, and happiness … As a Tunisian who experienced the revolution, I'm still dreaming of a better life, just like many others," Bouguerra said. ■