Sidi Bouzid. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Amira Masrour

A young man in his twenties who had trouble finding work self-immolated yesterday in front of the town hall in the governorate of Sidi Bouzid.

Ibrahim Slimani poured gasoline over his body and set himself alight in front of passersby, according to AFP. He was taken to the local hospital where doctors treated third degree burns over three-quarters of his body.

Mohsen Ben Hneya, a resident of Sidi Bouzid, told Tunisia Live that Slimani self-immolated because he suffers from a neurological disorder.

His father is a poor man who works in the municipality of Sidi Bouzid, Ben Hneya added.

“Because of his poverty, the young man wished to work with his father in the municipality,” he said. “Unfortunately, his health situation does not allow him to work. It is because he was refused work that he decided to commit suicide.”

Since the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi two years ago in Sidi Bouzid, numerous other young Tunisian men — especially the jobless — have set themselves alight to express anger and frustration.

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Categories: Economic Exploitation, Imperialism, International, Tunisia, Workers Struggle