Self-immolation - the weapon of the powerless

By Anne-Beatrice Clasmann Jan 21, 2011, 12:38 GMT

Cairo - Through his self-immolation, the unemployed Tunisian Mohammed Bouazizi has become the symbolic figure of the uprising of the downtrodden against the corrupt ruling class.

His death is being celebrated by many Arab media outlets as the heroic deed of a martyr.

Even some Islamic clerics, otherwise compelled to abhor suicide on religious grounds, have praised this young man's act of desperation.

Within days, a hero cult sprang up around the death of Bouazizi. A business man from Kuwait even offered a high sum for the vegetable cart with which Bouazizi had earned a meagre living for his family.

These positive responses may have contributed to the fact that this horrific death has spawned self-immolation attempts in Yemen, Algeria, Egypt and Mauritania - for poverty, bureaucratic capriciousness and corruption exist there as well.

In recent days, three men have attempted to ignite themselves in front of the Egyptian parliament, resulting in patrols by plainclothes police officers at the historic building. The increased security is aimed at preventing even more people from pouring petrol over themselves in a bid to draw public attention to their problems.

Looking at the individual cases, one common indicator leaps into view - the potential self-immolators all felt a desperate sense of powerlessness. Each had unsuccessfully battled against an unyielding bureaucracy and the pressure of a society - a conservative society - in which a man's worth is judged by how much he can achieve, his ability to raise and support a family.

Bouazizi, a university graduate, failed to fulfill this societal dream.

His sisters say he felt taunted and teased by officials who allegedly attempted to extort money from him for permission to sell fruit and vegetables on the street.

The same situation was played out in Algeria, where a 37-year-old street vendor poured kerosene over himself following an argument with a police officer.

And yet the initial shock effect of these self-immolations is wearing off. Whilst the death of Bouazizi electrified the Arab world, the subsequent suicide attempts in recent days are no longer front- page news. Indeed, there is also criticism of this wave of attempted suicides.

In Egypt, the banned Socialist Labour Party on Thursday issued a rally call, saying, 'Don't torch yourself! Put the torch to your enemies instead!'

And the Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat said those who immolate themselves are not sufficiently pious.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay showed more sympathy with these desperate souls, saying, 'Governments around the world must heed the calls of their people and not wait until they sacrifice their own lives to draw attention to their causes.'