On February 6th, 26-year-old Ahmed Hérili was photographed by a friend holding a plastic bottle outside a police station in Sousse, a port city in eastern Tunisia. Seconds later, a huge scream came from inside the building, and flames engulfed the gate. Ahmed died shortly after setting himself on fire in protest against alleged police harassment and abuse.

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Days later, 13-year-old Senda El Rjibi chose to end her life by self-immolation inside a school near Kasserine, one of the poorest regions in Tunisia. In the same week, two middle-aged men also set themselves on fire in public institutions. In early March, a school guard allegedly set himself on fire after a conflict with his supervisor.

Recently, similar self-immolation incidents have occurred in hospitals, courts, town halls, and even schools, resulting in the deaths of most victims due to severe injuries. In Sousse, Ahmed's death sparked protests. His friends were arrested and charged with assisting the young man's suicide and inciting arson. However, no formal investigation has been launched by the authorities into the root causes of these incidents.

Instead, supporters of President Kais Saied quickly came up with conspiracy theories, accusing the victims of being foreign agents "ready to burn the country for their own benefit," as MP Sirine Mrabet put it. According to research by Mehdi Ben Khalil and others, most self-immolation victims are unemployed young people from the working class, a study that compared changes in this trend before and after the 2011 revolution.

Following the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in December 2010, which triggered protests in Tunisia and eventually led to the downfall of long-time dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, such acts of suicide have increasingly occurred in public places and government departments. "The main motives have also changed, with more cases caused by economic problems and conflicts with state representatives," the authors noted.

Meanwhile, protests in Tunisia have increased sharply in recent weeks, up 140% in February compared to the same period last year. People across the country are organizing to criticize the deteriorating socio-economic conditions. After a fatal car accident on February 18, spontaneous protests and a general strike broke out in Gafsa, a southeastern region that has been marginalized despite its rich phosphate resources.

Afef Amami, an unemployed graduate, said: "It frustrates me to see those who got jobs through corruption and nepotism working, while we cannot." This has led to the rise of a social movement condemning the collapse of infrastructure and inequality in regional development. Some of the slogans chanted by protesters - "Work, freedom, social justice" and "Mines are depleted, money is in the capital" - echo the slogans of the 2011 revolution.

In other parts of the country, various protest movements have also emerged, demanding improved socio-economic conditions, including school administrators and substitute teachers. One of the most organized movements is the unemployed graduates movement, which has held protests in dozens of cities across the country. Afef Amami joined the movement in 2019. The young woman obtained a master's degree in finance and administration in 2007. In the following three years, she took more than 15 national exams in the hope of finding a government job, but to no avail.

"When I was finally accepted by a civil service unit, my name was replaced by someone with connections. This was very common under Ben Ali," she told Middle East Eye. Today, she tutors schoolchildren and is a spokesperson for the National Association of Unemployed University Graduates. "It frustrates me to see those who got jobs through corruption and nepotism working, while we cannot," she said.

Thursday, February 6th, was one of the main protest days for unemployed graduates, eventually bringing together thousands of demonstrators near the government headquarters in the Kasbah district of the capital, as well as in other cities. Later that afternoon, Karim Tora, president of the Unemployed Graduates Association, was invited to meet with a government official. He refused to sit down, demanding a written statement listing all the commitments made at previous meetings, as well as a specific timeline for implementing those commitments, but officials refused to provide it.

"We learned in the last few meetings with officials that they have no political will to solve this problem, they are just stalling for time and appeasing anger," Tora told Middle East Eye. "The state is also trying to hit our movement from within, appointing some unemployed graduates to political positions. Now, we have at least five comrades serving as mayors and one appointed as a regional governor," he added. He told Middle East Eye that he himself had been subtly offered a position in meetings with state representatives.

Sociologist Mounir Saidani believes that socio-economic rights have been marginalized since Saied seized power on July 25, 2021. At that time, the president froze parliament and began dismantling the democratic progress made after the revolution. "Most of the political arena is focused on the polarization between the government and the opposition," he told Middle East Eye, referring to the repression of political opposition. Since 2021, at least 80 politicians and activists have been imprisoned, including dozens imprisoned simply for working with migrants. The United Nations recently called on Tunisia to stop these arrests and arbitrary detentions.

Saidani believes that the authorities' handling of the unemployed graduates protest movement is more tolerant because their demands are considered legitimate. "The authorities' overall policy towards them shows that they are taking a cooperative and negotiating approach," the social expert said. However, some demonstrations have been marred by arrests and police violence. "In some protests, there were more police than protesters. They are here to intimidate people and eventually empty the streets," Amami said, adding that she saw protesters being beaten with batons and subjected to tear gas.

In the northern city of Kairouan, seven people face up to 15 years in prison for participating in unemployed graduates protests. They are accused of assaulting a police officer and disturbing public order. "After July 25, 2021, the authorities successfully spread fear and self-censorship among activists through laws such as Decree 54, harassment, and trials," Tora said, referring to legislation passed in 2022 aimed at combating "fake news," which has become notorious for suppressing activists and the opposition.

"However, we have now moved beyond that step. People's socio-economic conditions are very bad. When people become hungry, they are no longer afraid of anything, whether it is prison or repression," Tora added. Unemployment has been a long-standing problem in the Tunisian economy and one of the root causes of the 2011 revolution. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the country's unemployment rate has remained stagnant at around 16%, with a particularly severe impact on educated youth and women.

In 2024, more than half of young women and one-third of female university graduates are unemployed. The unemployment rate for graduates is also twice that of high school dropouts. Hafedh Atteb, an independent consultant for employment and vocational training, told Middle East Eye: "Economic growth has been stagnant in recent years. In this context, it is impossible to create jobs, especially for graduates."

"People have the right to study for as long as possible. Unfortunately, our economic structure cannot absorb so many graduates," he explained, arguing that policymakers should invest in high value-added industries such as finance or technology. Protesters interviewed by Middle East Eye believe that the private sector is exploitative, pays low wages, and offers little guarantee of social security or workers' rights. As a result, graduates turn to public employment, but positions are scarce, mainly in the police force.

In addition, Saidani pointed out that the problems of corruption and nepotism persist after the revolution. According to observers, after 2011, political parties and trade unions used the amnesty law, which promised to provide employment for political prisoners and those injured in the uprising, to appoint supporters and acquaintances. Amami and others believe that, to this day, "there is still no real political will to combat corruption."

"My parents sacrificed everything for me to pursue my studies and work. Then, you learn that there are thousands of people working with fake diplomas," the young graduate said, referring to revelations that thousands of civil servants may have purchased or illegally obtained their credentials. "Another part of the problem is that outdated education policies do not match the current job market," Saidani pointed out. Afif Mesnani, a recent graduate and protester from Kairouan, also emphasized this issue. "Education receives almost no funding. Ignorance has become widespread, and we will see the devastating consequences of these policies in the future," he told Middle East Eye.

In 2020, a new law was passed promising to recruit graduates based on merit, according to criteria of age and year of graduation. However, more than a year later, the president announced that the legislation could not be implemented, leading protesters in Kasserine to begin a hunger strike. Saied's economic plan relies mainly on recovering 13.5 billion dinars (approximately $4 billion) allegedly stolen by previous elites, as well as so-called community enterprises, which are local projects collectively operated and owned to achieve regional development.

"These companies cannot solve the unemployment problem. They are mainly aimed at farmers or workers who want to increase their income through local collective projects," Atteb pointed out. Many young people, especially graduates, are not interested in Saied's plan. "Whenever we ask for employment, officials force us to start one of these local businesses. We have the right to employment, you cannot force us to participate in these projects," Mesnani said. "Useless laws and institutions have been created, while officials are irresponsible and cannot come up with any solutions to the crisis," he added.

Last week, Saied also proposed a new bill to end all forms of temporary contracts and subcontracting, which he considers "modern slavery." However, some economists believe that such a law could have disastrous consequences for unemployment. Meanwhile, according to Atteb, national policies to encourage employment are gradually being reduced in funding. All of this has led to an increase in attempted migration.

A national study showed that more than 100,000 unemployed graduates left Tunisia between 2011 and 2021, mainly to find work abroad. Nearly half of the country's engineers leave within five years. "Young people find that the only solution is to migrate, whether by boat or by plane. The country's economic policies have led them to do so," Atteb said.

Meanwhile, some predict that a new uprising is imminent, one that will prioritize socio-economic rights. "This is very likely to happen, especially when the authorities lie and then you find out years later that they were just stalling for time and peddling illusions," Tora said. He believes that most of the protesters who initially supported Saied are now disappointed because no laws or promises have been implemented. "Saied is not honest with us," he said.

Saidani believes that, so far, the protest movement has been somewhat limited, partly because Saied's slogans of promoting national sovereignty and social justice align with their demands. However, the expert questions the stability of this balance if there is no real progress and the opposition's narrative is strengthened. "The situation is unclear, but it could erupt at any time. People's patience is limited," he said.

If you are in the UK and need support, you can contact the Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org or 116 123. For the US, please try contacting the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. In Tunisia, you can contact the Tunisian Association for the Promotion and Prevention of Mental Health: 23974466. For other countries, please see befrienders.org.