Expats in Tunisia /Tunisians returning from Europe

A decent man was visited by an angel who said I will show you heaven and hell and you can decide, where you want to be when you leave this world. In heaven everybody was singing Halleluja, halleluja...seemed to him a bit boring. In hell was a big party going on , With all present in a real good mood. So he declared Hell would be his choice. The angel informed him that he would have a bit longer to live and could yet change his mind, if he wants to. Well, he did not. When he arrived in hell, it really was hell! This came as an absolute shock to him and he went to see the Devil in Charge. The devil  explained. When you first came you were a visitor, now you are an immigrant. A joke I heard 30 years ago and there still is much truth in in.
New developments/changes within the former home countries lead to strangeness, so much is no longer familiar to the Expats /Tunisians, returning to their country. For many years they transferred large sums of money, supported their families, the building industry, the economy in general, and last but not least, enabled Tunisia to balance the external trade deficit , Do their country men and women know this? Is their contribution in the past and now that they are returning, appreciated? They are lucky, if they are not welcomed with stones and are not confronted with lots of envy or juggler, thieves on motorbikes.... . What is considered normal here is not for Expats, who got used to different standards, clean roads, noise and fumes reduced, seat belts worn for longer than the 2 minutes when police is on site, respect from children,, set rules and regulations, police working, road safety mainly observed, as well as safety regulations to avoid unnecessary accidents. In Tunisia on the other hand everything seems to be allowed. Children turning a crossroad into a playground/football field, ignoring the traffic, polluting the air with their constant screaming, they can beat a Bosch hammer  for noise. Parts of a street blocked off to make space for a wedding or circumcision celebration, loudspeakers suitable for a football stadium. Along your house? Hard luck

no need to inform or ask you if it is okay! Everywhere building works going on, rubble heaps more or less on every street. Children who can not walk past without picking some stones up and just have to throw them at animals, people or buildings. Great feeling. A result of the revolution, when the population stood on the roofs with a collection of stones, ready to be thrown for their defense?
When you return to Tunisia, be prepared for a life on a different planet. The charming big North African smile has disappeared, instead many, mainly elderly, depressed men with their head down, looking for something they lost, perhaps this brilliant catching smile? Children traveling to school by taxi, women who buy a baguette on credit, approx. 10 Ct is one. Some times I wonder do the Tunisians want their countrymen from abroad to leave again? There is such a lot of envy, Expats are suspected to be rich and that for no reason.
I try to get rid of my frustrations with the people here by creating jokes about their mentality, like this one.
A man comes to seek the advise of the Imman. I don not understand why are the Europeans are  rich and I am not. The Imam replies, I know you, you are lazy and unreliable. The man thanks him and a little later prays,
Allah please make me diligent and reliable, but not straight away....
Let me add, I also met wonderful decent people here, hamdllah

Environment Protection in Tunisia

At least 90 % of the cars are new and expensive. Sounds good for the environment? Well, the traffic is heavy, bikes are rare, instead motorbikes, frequently without registration plates and a few other parts. Children and adults alike love noise in Tunisia. Motorbikes (old and new ones) are tuned to create extreme (and I mean extreme!!!) noise and black stinking clouds (live hard and die young of cancer?). As everybody seems to be screaming (or is it just the Beguines now living in towns and not yet accustomed to having the neighbour right next to him or her) so deafness, one day, shouldn't be a problem.  Letting the engine run while the driver just buys some water or bread, or  when there is only a half hour break for the bus driver, that is standard here.  In Germany they let the engine on to get some heat when it is cold outside, so may be 40 degrees Centigrade is not enough. Wastepaper bins are quite rare. No need for them as you can just drop your wrappings of whatever you eat, or empty bottles, where ever you are. Adults do it, children copy them. You like your pavement and street clean?  That is your problem, what the  heck!  By the way, pavements are designed for parking cars. If you think it's your right to walk on the pavements, you have to climb over quite a few cars!  I won't say the authorities don't do anything for the environment, in Souse, for example, when we didn't get enough rain, we had the water cut off for about three month, every night from 21.00 hours until 6 or 7 a.m. and from time to time the electricity is cut off for a few hours.