“Friends were shot beside, in front and behind me,” remembers Mohammed Soghayer of the tumultuous days in 2011 when Tunisian security forces battled to crush mass protests that eventually ended the brutal rule of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. The events in Tunis proved a catalyst for the Arab spring as long-oppressed populations rose up against autocratic, corrupt regimes. Yet seven years on, Mr Soghayer, a graduate who struggles to make ends meet on the $6-$8 he earns a day working in a café, has — along with thousands of others — been back on the streets.
The trigger for the anti-government protests in January were cuts to petrol subsidies and increased taxes on cars, internet use and phone calls. But for many, like Mr Soghayer, the government’s austerity moves were just the latest example of the ruling elite hurting the poor. “The youth just have no way of living . . . All we want is to reach the status of slaves who were at least guaranteed food, clothes and shelter,” the 36-year-old says. “It is not normal for a young man my age to be unable to afford marriage or a home.” His anger reflects a common theme across a region burdened with the world’s highest youth unemployment rate — about 30 per cent of 15-24 year-olds are jobless — as well as one of the fastest population growth rates and where cash-strapped governments are looking to overhaul expensive subsidy systems.
Iran was rocked by the biggest anti-regime protests in almost a decade in December, fuelled in large part by austerity measures and resentment over corruption. Algeria and Jordan have also been hit by smaller protests this year over food price rises and public spending cuts.