Postcript Not a Jasmine Garden

A man used to always use his wife as a scapegoat whenever something went wrong. One day, when he made a mistake, he declared again that it's his wife's fault. His friend pointed out that this is not possible as she had passed away one month ago. His reply:"But it would have been her fault if she were around." Friend: "She's dead." He: "That's her fault too".   -Tunisia has some good laws which are though poorly enforced. Citizens learn very quickly whether or not they can keep up their bad habits. Why change if there is no or very little control. I see quite a few young men (even children) riding a motorbike, possessing a touch-screen mobile phone, even though they are school drop-outs, unemployed. Heard several complains about stolen motorbikes or attempted theft. Does the police control ownership? Rumour has it some threat revenge if policemen try to do their job. In order to be more effective the police force needs to be better staffed and equipped. Many say one can't rely on the police for protection and upholding law and order, they too often lack dedication and feel frustrated with their job. In addition, like most Tunisians, they don't like to criticised. Even what is mend to be a constructive suggestion, is quickly misunderstood as unjustified "criticism". Nobody makes mistakes here, even toddlers don't. If you catch someone "with a smoking gun" this guy will quickly declare there is no gun in his hand and point to another person "who fired". Kids react like that,. I watched some throwing stones, picking up some more, when addressed stating they never do this but that boy over there........ I saw a heavily disturbed young man from a broken family walking past and suddenly kicking like a football a cat sitting in front of my door, thinking of nothing bad.

I hit him with my shoe to show him my contempt. One day later, a group of 4 skinny , tall young teenagers walking past my house, kicking a cat. New sport for the brainless, aggressive, result of too much junk fast food? Never viewed anything like it before. They are a disgrace for this country and any civilised society. - The Jasmine Revolution created hopes for a new, open, prosperous, democratic society. It didn't result in a big "Jasmine garden", there is more buying power but just for some. Development inequality between different regions of the country needs to be urgently tackled, citizens there feel left behind. What really shock me is the high rate of 62 percent unemployment among university graduates. Are their diplomas, efforts, expenditures, sacrifices all of no value? Yet you may encounter a surprising choice of the incumbent of post in various offices. The reason is quickly explained, many civil servants installed after the revolution do not possess the right qualification as they obtained their position based on connection rather than merit and I've often been told that if you want a good job, you have to pay for it or remain unemployed. What a waste of good education and intelligence from which the whole country could otherwise profit. In 2015 a Committee for the Prevention of Suicide has been set up,. trying to tackle suicides with a national strategy. 365 cases were reported in 2017, about half concerned persons aged between 20 and 39, many with academic diplomas. The reasons given are depression, mental illness, high unemployment, pressure from the families who often don't understand why their son or daughter remains unemployed with such a high education. One needs to be pretty desperate to commit suicide, the choice of method makes it even more sad (often hanging or self-immolation), so terrible, I am lost for words. The real figures may be even higher as there are social and religious taboos, it used to be the same with Christians, in some countries still is, nobody should discriminate or look down on the families but think about what went wrong in our society that these valuable folks took such a drastic step. By the way, after several years, refusal to bury their corpses on the holly Christian cemetery ground, Christians eventually learnt to accept that anyone with such a desperate state of mind should not be seen a person who committed a mortal sin, which God can not forgive. As the French president put it: If we don't help the young unemployed, they will never forgive us.  Tunisia can only profit from a better society with intelligent solutions, we don't need this commonplace self-centredness, clanism, fraud and corruption but solidarity and dedication and engagement for a country that can be really beautiful.

Not a Jasmine Garden

Wife speaking to her husband: "I feel depressed, please speak to me with a non-aggressive voice." Husband: "You need to see a neurologist." - The bill from the waterworks (Soned) was extremely high, looked like we didn't pay for 2 years. Checked the meter and discovered they made an error. The man at the counter said come back on Monday, you must speak to the guy in the office. My husband returned as advised only to be informed Soned requires a photo as proof. They obviously mistrust their customers. A lie, though, could easily be uncovered at the next reading, whenever they choose to send someone around. In Germany you can fill out a card with your own recording if you are out when the waterworks' employee arrives, leave the card at your door or mail it. There are also other services here that mistrust their customers, like e.g. Orange (Internet). Non-Tunisian nationalists who live here permanently are refused a contract as "they might decide to leave Tunisia some time in the future." This also applies to those with an unlimited permit to live here. Their only alternative is to get their contract signed by a Tunisian or do without. I guess Tunisians never leave this country, except on a holiday and can therefore be granted a contract. - Talking about trust, leaving food for homeless cats outside, in front of my house entrance door, is regarded by some youngsters as free take-away food for their dogs. They are not fussy, they'll accept a plastic bowl as well as a nice one.- I remember a time (before the revolution) when quite a few were dreaming of possessing a TV set, a bike or even just a fridge, eggs were a treat, not every day food, everywhere half finished buildings, waiting for more money arriving from abroad, Tunisians eager to receive chocolate from Europe "as we haven't got chocolate here". In view of the poor quality of local chocolate at that time this may pass as a kind of white lie. What a difference now, bikes are rare, expensive new cars everywhere and so are construction works (talking about the better-off part of the country). Interesting to watch construction works, so different here, who needs protection like helmets, safety shoes, scaffolding, etc. ? Across the road 2 more storeys are added, a tradesman shovels debris through an opening from the second floor onto the street. Smoke gets into my eyes and nose. A fire anywhere? From my roof I can see an open fire in the almost finished added construction to the old house. A protest because of insufficient pay? May be the workers just decided to have barbeque for lunch or it has something to do with local construction methods, you never know. - We don't live in a little palace with a park or beautiful garden, we haven't got a car (thank heaven for that with all those hooligans in the neighbourhood and quite a bit risky driving, some appear to have more luck than brain), you would not expect envy? Some folks watched we buy a lot of bottled water....... The seller explained he also needs people who pay cash, he finds us as customers very helpful. Unfortunately the water from the tap is very hard (chalky) and it is on medical advice that we don't drink it. It can create stones in your body and even animals suffer, their teeth is often in a poor state for example. I now bought "Vet aquadent" anti-plaque from the vet to reduce cats' teeth problem

s. It may seem a luxury, but if you love animals and see how they suffer here, it becomes a different matter. Tunisia urgently requires water-treatment plants in order to protect people's health. Not everybody can afford bottled water. So much needs yet to be done, I'd wish rich folks would donate money to support Tunisia, after all they would profit as well if they contribute to a better world.