Self-Immolation Is on the Rise in the Arab World
By NADA BAKRI
Published: January 20, 2012
BEIRUT, Lebanon — More than a year after a young Tunisian set himself on fire and touched off revolutions throughout the Arab world, self-immolation, symbolic of systemic frustration and helplessness, has become increasingly common across the region.
On Wednesday, five young men self-immolated in Morocco, adding to the grim tally for a month in which others have set themselves on fire in Tunisia, Jordan and Bahrain.
“This is truly sad,” said Nabil Dajani, a professor of media studies at the American University of Beirut. “The governments are indifferent. And they still talk about democracy when there is a hierarchy of needs that should be addressed first.”
The death of Mohamed Bouazizi, a fruit vendor from southern Tunisia who set himself on fire on Dec. 17, 2010, helped incite an uprising that toppled the government of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. But the repercussions of these recent acts have been far fewer.
more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/21/world/africa/self-immolation-on-the-rise-in-the-arab-world.html
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