Friends of Tunisia
Newsletter / May 2003
(an affiliate of the National Peace Corps Association)
P.O. Box 25245
Washington, DC 20027
Tel. 202-526-0897
fotrpcv@yahoo.com

Recently both New York City and Washington, DC, had film festivals that included films from the Middle East and North Africa. Unfortunately, only Filmfest-DC included Tunisian films.  Two films were shown in DC. One, "Red Satin," depicts a middle-class Tunisian widow who takes up bellydancing. This film has been released commercially in the US and was described in an earlier FOT newsletter. The other film, "Clay Dolls," hasn't been released commercially in this country but did win the Silver Prize at the Carthage Film Festival. Perhaps one reason it won silver, rather than gold, is the bleakness of the story. In brutal detail, the film describes what awaits poor rural girls whose families send them to work in the city - in this case, Tunis. A man from the village takes the girls north to fill a demand for factory workers and maids. The girls' intention is to make money for the family and eventually find a husband. The reality is that these girls are entering a kind of slavery in which abuse, rape, and even prostitution is never more than a few inches away. The villager who takes the girls to the city tries to protect them, yet he is helpless to stop what is going on. In despair, he guzzles beer and wine. The man is literally drinking himself to death, and, toward the end of the film, he plaintively asks a rich old man in Tunis, "Why do you treat us like dogs?" Contemptuously, while sitting on a toilet, the old man replies, "Because you are dogs." Is this film an accurate and unflinching look at Tunisia's urban underbelly? Or does it exaggerate to persuade rural families to keep their daughters out of overburdened cities? Hard to say. But it neither preaches nor "explains." Rather, it just tells a story. And while some Tunisians complain that too many Tunisian films focus on social problems, American viewers have to be struck by the contrast between such slice-of-life films and Hollywood's recent productions, which seem stuck in three kinds of fantasy: "shoot 'em up" fantasies for males, "date flic" fantasies for females, and cartoon fantasies for toddlers. Oh, yes, and a fourth new, increasingly popular category: "Stupid and Stupider." Which may not be fantasy.

NOTE: If you hear of a Tunisian film appearing in your city, please notify FOT and we will send out a notice to other members who live in or near that city.

FORMER US AMBASSADOR TO TUNISIA NOW IN IRAQ

Among the American officials recently sent by the Bush administration to help Iraq rebuild its government and economy is former US ambassador to Tunisia Robin Raphel. At this point, her area of responsibility is "trade." Raphel was appointed US ambassador to Tunisia by President Clinton in the late '90's and finished her tour in 2000. Before serving in Tunis, she was Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia. Prior to that she worked in US embassies in India, South Africa, and England.

EXHIBIT OF MOROCCAN FABRICS AT SMITHSONIAN IN WASHINGTON

Anyone interested in Tunisian fabrics will probably also be interested in the upcoming exhibit of "The Fabric of Moroccan Life" at the Smithsonian's Museum of African Art in Washington, DC. The exhibit is scheduled for June 6 through September 21, 2003, and will showcase 150 rare embroideries, hangings, and rugs that date from the 18th to early 20th century. Most of these pieces have never been on display before. Jewelry and costumes will also be included, as will films, lectures, craft and dance demonstrations. This exhibit was put together by the Indianapolis Museum of Art

Many Arabs and Moslems who are upset with American policies have tried to register their displeasure by purchasing so-called "ethical colas" - alternatives to Pepsi and Coca Cola. The first of these "ethical colas" was Zam Zam Cola, an Iranian product created in 1979 when Iran's Islamic government banned Pepsi.  However, last year when Tawfiq Mathlouti, a Tunisian-born French businessman, tried to become Zam Zam's distributor in France, he was turned down for some reason. So Mathlouti began Mecca Cola, which promises to give 20% of its net profits to charities, half of them Palestinian. In its first few months Mecca Cola sold 4 million bottles. Not bad! But sales were largely confined to small stores in immigrant neighborhoods. Then France and Germany got upset with the US approach to Iraq. Boom! Mecca Cola began to attract a much wider market in those two countries. Mathlouti's subsequent production run was 14 million bottles. Meanwhile in February, Qibla Cola was launched in England with 500,000 bottles. Already available in Scandinavia, Qibla hopes to ship to Turkey, Pakistan, and Egypt. Like Mecca Cola, Qibla Cola donates part of its profits to an Islamic charity. But it's not just colas that are becoming "ethical." Three other French businessmen of Tunisian origin recently began Muslim Up in France. Already, this competitor for American 7 Up is being shipped to Britain, Germany, Belgium, and Italy. So far, about a half-million bottles of the product have been sold, and the company founders hope to market soon in the Middle East and North Africa. Should Coke and Pepsi be worried? Not at all, say business analysts. The two American companies own 60 % of the Western European soft drink market and 90% in the Middle East. The success of "ethical colas," these analysts say, will be temporary because they haven't been able to win shelf space in big supermarket chains. On the other hand, if these products do manage to succeed, the analysts believe Coke and Pepsi would just buy them out, as they did to Thumbs Up, a soft drink company in India. (Wouldn't bet the farm on that!)

-The World Bank, $250 million in increments linked to "structural reform."
-The African Development Bank, $190 million for economic competitiveness and $143 million for road improvements.
- European Investment Bank, 100 million euros for economic competitiveness and 95 million euros to supply drinking water to the central coastal region.
-Japan, $103 million for a highway between El Djem and Sfax (completing a major highway from Tunis to Sfax).
-Nordic Investment Bank, $50 million for telecommunications upgrades -Arab Monetary Fund, 37.5 million dinars for modernizing banking and 18.7 million dinars for balance of payment support.
-Abu Dhabi Development Fund, $25 million to finance 20 small dams.
-Saudi Arabia Development Fund, $10.8 million for an accident and emergency center in Tunis.
-Portugal, 100 million euros for purchase of Portuguese goods.
-Iran, $20 million line of credit for purchase of Iranian goods and services.

Mike Hart, who served in Tunis from 1962 to 1964, died of cancer in June of 2002. An unusual volunteer in many ways, Mike served as a crane operator in the Navy before joining the Peace Corps. Unfortunately, during his service in Tunis, he had a motorcycle accident that cost him his leg. (The Peace Corps did not evacuate Mike to an American hospital right away, which may have been a factor in the loss of his leg. Afterwards, the Peace Corps decided to avoid such problems by setting a policy that banned motorcycles for volunteers.) Once back in the US, Mike rallied and, since he was a mechanic, even built himself a replacement leg. His hobby was restoring antique cars, and he became well known for that. Over the years, he was supposedly featured in several magazines. Furthermore, he must have been a very good volunteer because, in the latest issue of the Camel Letter, the newsletter of the first two groups in Tunisia, Dave Jorgenson remembers that "Mike was a can-do type of guy...one of our group that provided real service to the Tunisians." (For more info on Mike or the Camel Letter, contact Hank Saada at h.saada@att.net or 3672 Essex Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19114-1904, Tel. 215-637-4368.)

***NEWS OF TUNISIA********TUNISIAN NEWS********NEWS OF TUNISIA***

- On February 17, the virtual University of Tunisia, which uses the internet to teach courses, launched its first program in management in cooperation with the University of Louis Pasteur in Strasburg, France. -There are now 12 Internet Service Providers (ISP) in Tunisia. Five are private, and seven are state owned. Of 57,000 internet accounts in Tunisia, 36,000 are for government employees using state owned ISPs. Planet Tunisie, which is owned in part by members of President Ben Ali's family, is the largest private provider, with 12,000 subscribers. Overall, about 400,000 people are estimated to use the internet in Tunisia. The country's population is about 10 million. -Internet activity is tightly monitored throughout Tunisia. Between February 5 and 9, twenty students in Zarzis were arrested for browsing radical Islamic websites on the internet. The students, aged 18 to 22, were mainly lycee students. The government claims that one of the sites accessed by the students belonged to the outlawed Islamist Party, an-Nahda.

-Alcatel will soon install an additional 100,000 land lines for Tunisie Telecom (TT), which currently has 1.2 million fixed lines in place. TT also has 400,000 cell phone subscribers and a waiting list for a mobile phone estimated at between 300,000 and 700,000. -Since 1999, when TunisAir earned a 350 million dinar profit, the airline has continually lost money due to declining business, overstaffing, increased fuel costs, and rising insurance rates. In 2002 the company posted a 30 million dinar loss. The new director-general, Rafaa Dekhil, is implementing a plan to regain profitability. A major problem, besides overstaffing, is an excessively large agent network of 7,000 people for only 32 aircraft. Flights are also being reduced: from Spain by 60%, Belgium by 46%, Germany 22%, Italy 21%, and France 19%.

-Despite an economic slowdown in the Common Market, which is Tunisia's principal trading partner, Tunisian exports grew almost 19% in 2001. Unfortunately, imports outstripped exports so the trade deficit for that year was 4.1 billion dinars. Tunisia's nemesis, drought, played a role. Imports of cereal grains increased by 12 % in volume but 29% in value. -On May 5, Prince Albert of Monaco came to Sidi Bou Said to start a "Mediterranean garden" of plants native to the region. The garden is a symbol of ten years of cooperation between Tunisia and Monaco to protect the Mediterranean Sea. Ironically, one of the newest threats to the sea is a mutant form of South Pacific seaweed/algae inadvertently introduced into the Mediterranean by a French maritime museum run, at the time, by Jacques Cousteau. This algae is spreading rapidly and overwhelms native undersea plants that support indigenous fish, shellfish, etc.

MEMBERSHIP: For FOT-only, send $15 to address at the head of newsletter. For combined NPCA and FOT membership, send $50 to NPCA, Suite 205, 1900 L Street, Washington, DC 20036. Specify your desired affiliation as Friends of Tunisia, not just "FOT."