Expressões da Revolução de 13-JUN a 14-JUL - Porto Alegre - RS - Brasil

Convidado pelo Festival DEMOCRACINE 2012, projeto aborda o ativismo cultural na primavera árabe e sua repercussão pelo mundo.


Game Over – Tunisia

FOTOS – Em parceria com o grupo Planet Art eXchange, essa exposição traz 50 trabalhos de 5 fotógrafos sobre o momento dos primeiros conflitos tunisianos até a queda de Ben Ali – exditador tunisiano.


Game Over – fighting the transnational elite and their local cronies

There are several theories on the real instigator of the mother of Arab spring -  the Tunisian revolution, most of which argue that it’s the transnational elite and their local cronies – military general, political personalities, members of civil society, financiers and businessmen, etc.  and it’s true that such theories can explain in part the hasty and unexpected departure of the the ex-dictator Ben Ali but the transnational elite haven’t expected to face a resolved people that have came face to face with and anti-systemic Freedom and decided to reclaim it and  defend it with their lives … with peaceful means. The Tunisian people need a strong support, not of the foreign governments, especially those of the rich countries that represent the transnational elite – for they are against a free Arab and democratic world, but the support of people and international civil societies.

 

The story

After September 11,  the Tunisians dissidents in exile and those working underground at home came to realise that “we couldn’t overthrow this kind of dictatorship by guns because you will be treated as terrorists.. so what was left? Only civil resistance.

The civil resistance evolved with a new Tunisian generation. There were strikes and sit-ins backed by UGTT, the labor union, but people also relied on Facebook, Youtube and Al Jazeera then came demonstrations that were originated in December 2010 when Mohamed Bouazizi, a fruit seller in a central Tunisian city immolated himself to protest police abuse. His suffering became a galvanising symbol of injustice, and inspired demonstrations that spread quickly from the provinces to the capital – and then, in turn to Egypt, Bahrein, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Morocco, Algeria and Syria. In mid January, Tunisia’s protesters forced the country’s long time dictator Ben Ali into exile – the first expulsion of an Arab autocrat by popular uprising in recent history.

Then came the 5 weeks long Casbah  sit-in at the Government Plaza that overthrew the first post-revolution interim government led by Gannouchi, Ben Ali long time ally and prime minister. During this sit-in, the demonstrators had turned the facade of the prime minister office into a mural where people could spray graffiti or write on sheets of paper in colored ink. The wall displayed caricatures, political cartoons, a blown-up Facebook page that showed how to join the revolution online, and handwritten signs in Arabic, French and English. One sign read, “Dear Our Government.. Get Lost!”, Another observed “Revolutions Never Go Backwards”.. The sit in succeeded in its principal objective – the newly appointed  interim government ex- accepted its demands – holding an election on 24th July 2011 for a Constitutional Assembly to rewrite Tunisia’s constitution.

For the first time since the 19th century, an Arab population will try to independently construct a constitutional democracy from scratch. Tunisia may yet bet the only Arab state to attempt this following the recent upheavals. The conditions in Tunisia seem more favorable to a durable democracy than those in many other Arab nations. The population is well educated; there are no sectarian or tribal divides and there is a foundation of civil society. Tunisia’s success would not guarantee that its neighbors will follow, but its failure would be a dark portent.

Well aware of that, both the local and transnational occult counter-revolutionary forces are trying hard to regain their lost ground through with different tactics – influencing the interim government, media manipulation, interference with the judiciary system, cloning of the dissolved ruling party, etc. but the revolutionaries are equally aware of those tactics and continue their struggle for freedom.

“Game Over; expressions of revolution” is a body of work – exhibitions and debates curated by Planet Art eXchange (www.pax.so) a UK based organisation – that aims to engage the international audience in several cities around the world in discussing the  strategies of resistance to help defending the legal aspirations of the Tunisians and opposing the enemies of their revolution: The transnational elite end their local cronies. Those debates will then be streamed to the Tunisian revolutionaries to strengthen their resolve.

The exhibition features the work of 4 artists revolutionaries – Wassim Ghozlani, Sameh Arfaoui, Amine Landoulsi, Hamideddine Bouali and the intervention of Pr. Amira Aleya,  professor of national history at Manuba University – Tunisia

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SOBRE ESTA EDIÇÃO
/// O projeto Expressões da Revolução é o projeto convidado da edição 2012 do Democracine - Festival Internacional de Cinema sobre Democracia que se realiza de 13 a 16 de Junho na cidade de Porto Alegre - RS - Brasil.

/// The Expressions from Revolution is the invited project for 2012 by the Democracine - International Film Festival about Democracy that take place at Porto Alegre - RS - Brasil from 13th to 16th of June.

http://democracine.com.br


O Projeto

Edição desenvolvida por:
Demétrio Portugal

Com participação de:
Raquel Ribeiro Borges, Maged El Gebaly,
Coletivo Bijari, Mundo.ag

Esta edição tem parceria:
Prefeitura de Porto Alegre
Usina do Gasômetro
Anistia Internacional
Planet Art eXchange
IdeC - Institut de Citoyenneté
AUC - American Univerity of Cairo
Festival In-Edit
Vice Magazine
MatilhaCultural
IDS Brasil

Projeto em constante evolução.

PARCEIROS EXPRESSÕES DA REVOLUÇÃO

PARCEIROS DEMOCRACINE: