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Here's How the Arab Spring Started and How It Affected the World | History

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December 17 2010 - Muhammad Buazizi Set Himself on Fire                                                                                      

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December 17 2010 - Muhammad Buazizi Set Himself on Fire                                                                                      

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During the 1990s and 2000s, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ruled Tunisia, and promised for gradual democracy and economic prosperity. Although people saw a steady increase in economic growth, people still remained unemployed, with some areas of the country  impoverished. People criticized and condemned him for his human right policies. An example of this, is in 1991, where he banned Ennahda, a political party formed from the Islamic Tendency Movement, and called for the suppression of Islamists. This led people to question his authority and leadership. On top of this, he won reelection six times straight by an overwhelming margin each time, which brought out concerns of corruption.  During this time, there was an increase of corruption within the government, an increase of unemployment, a decrease in democracy, and a decrease of free speech. As tensions rose, the people and the government grew hatred for one another, and eventually on December 17, 2010, a man by the name of Muhamad Buazizi set himself on fire, in response to being harassed by municipal officers, because he had no permit to sell his products on on the streets.

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December 18 2010 - Protests began in Tunisia

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December 18 2010 - Protests began in Tunisia

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Buazizi setting himself on fire sparked mass protests all across Tunisia, calling for free speech, democracy, and an end to corruption. Hundreds of people joined the protests holding posters of Muhammad Buazizi.  As the protests increased, police violence also increased. They fired tear gas at the demonstrators and used police brutality to fight against the protests, sparking even more violence and hatred between the police and the people. When the protests eventually reached the capital, the Tunisian government responded with even more brutality and violence. Ben Ali continued to make promises that he would decrease unemployment, such as promising for 300,000 jobs, in hopes that the protests would calm down. Eventually, Ben Ali had no choice but to flee Tunisia, due to the high number of protests. On January 14, 2011, he fled to Saudi Arabia with his wife and three children, which effectively ended the protests. Once he fled, a glimpse of hope for the people began to glow, and democracy started to increase, with democratic elections and reforms taking place. On June 20, 2011, Ben Ali and his wife were sentenced to life for the crackdown on demonstrations during the revolution, in which 338 Tunisians died and 700 critically injured.

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January 14 2011 - Protests Spread to other Countries

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January 14 2011 - Protests Spread to other Countries

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The first Arab Spring protests first occurred in Tunisia, after Buazizi set himself on fire on December 17, 2010, and ended after about 4 weeks on January 14 2011. It spread to several different countries, across the Arab world. It first spread to Jordan which lasted from January 14 2011, to October 3, 2012.  Some countries had a greater impact and change than some other countries. For example, in Egypt (January 25 2011 - February 11 2011), they overthrew their president, Hosni Mubarak, which was a major victory for them. Other countries such as Yemen, Tunisia, and Libya also overthrew their leader. Jordan, they wanted a participatory and more inclusive government, not necessarily an overthrow. All these countries had different objectives and visions for achieving democracy and peace.  Most of these countries did achieve democracy, but some did not. For example, in Yemen, civil protests rose and democracy actually decreased, while Tunisia, democracy increased. These Arab Spring protests did eventually end in Saudi Arabia on December 24, 2012.  In total, the Arab Spring took place for about 2 years.

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During the early 2000s, before the Arab Spring, life in Yemen was simply dreadful. Yemenis accused their leader, Ali Abdullah Saleh, of mismanaging the economy, and also accused him of being corrupt and dishonorable.  Other factors, such as the rise of inflation, the rise of unemployment, and the failing economy, made life very hard for the people of Yemen. Yemen also heavily relied on U.S aid, to keep their country from falling. Demonstrations emerged in early 2011, when thousands of people peacefully protested in Sana’a (later known as Change Square), the largest city in Yemen, because they could not afford anything. They couldn’t even afford food to feed themselves and their family. These protests made people feel safe and secure, while also fighting for what they believed in.  Until March 18, 2011, snipers of nearby buildings opened fire and killed 72 protesters and wounded around 400.  These deaths triggered more protests that called for Saleh to step down. In response, he agreed to resign in March. However, in March he refused to sign a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-brokered agreement, which called for his immunity, three separate times. Protests continued to rise, with people chanting “liar, liar!” regarding Saleh. After two years of violence and corruption, Saleh did eventually give his power up to Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, for a two-year period as part of the GCC deal. This transition of powers just sparked more unemployment, more food insecurity, more inflation, suicide  bombings and a separatist movement in the south. To this day, thousands upon thousands of Yemenis are dying, due to violence between the rebels and the government.

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February 11 2011 - Hosni Mubarak was Overthrown

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February 11 2011 - Hosni Mubarak was Overthrown

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Hosni Mubarak became president in 1981 and ruled Egypt with an iron fist for almost 30 years.  He primarily focused on security and stability after Islamist troops killed his predecessor, Anwar Sadat. However, he took it too far, because when he became president, he gave his forces the ability to detain and arrest people without cause. Mubarak, an also extremely corrupt leader, silenced popular political movements and leaders that might have challenged his rule. On top of this, he also banned organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist organization founded in 1928. However, he had strong ties with western countries such as America and Russia, as they provided him with billions of dollars in aid. He also survived six different assassination attempts, such as one on July 4, 1995, where a Muslim militant group battling the Egyptian government, took responsibility for attempting to assassinate Mubarak, stating that it was its “sacred duty”. As tensions continued to rise, protests occurred all across the country, and violent crackdowns took place. Eventually on January 25, 2011,  over 50,000 people flooded into Tahrir Square, demanding for Mubarak to step down. After an endless 18 days of protesting and violence Hosni Mubarak decided to resign on February 11, 2011. This crucial victory for Egypt, led to celebrations and parties all across the country. Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison, for ordering the killing of the protesters. However, in February of 2014, this was overturned and he was only sentenced to five years in prison. Despite this, Egypt is still facing problems, regarding corruption, poverty and other issues, with their current leader, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. However, Egypt is currently seeing positive economic growth for the first time in decades.

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February 11, 2011 - Hosni Mubarak was Overthrown

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February 11, 2011 - Hosni Mubarak was Overthrown