Why is Arabia besieged and why now?

Unless you’re living in a cocoon on outer space somewhere, the recent events that engulfed North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula are at the centre of all our minds and every conversation these days? With the exception of Bahrain where the ruling prince was crowned a few years ago, the embattled nations (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen) have all been governed by an autocratic tyrannical for decades where the head of state ruled with an iron fist. So why now and what’s changed!?

Obviously every man, woman and child yearns for democracy, having a voice, and being regarded – however in this occasion besides being marginalized for years by their rulers two events acted as a catalyst to ignite an already desperate situation in the region.

First, similar to most movements and ideas, someone had to take the initial step and make the first move. Someone had to put their neck on the line, take a chance and risk speaking out. In this case it was Mohammed Bouazizi, the 26 year’s old aggrieved fruit and vegetable seller and his self-immolation in protest against the bureaucratic dictatorship in Tunisia.

Thanks to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and the Internet as a whole, Bouazizi’s desperate yet brave action did not go in vein, in fact it rewrote history. It galvanized and energized the youth of the region and set in motion a never seen before wave of change – a wave similar to the one that brought down the Berlin Wall in the late 1980s and changed forever the Eastern block. Because of it Mohamed Bouazizi will now and forever be remembered as the martyr whose death put the spot light on the governance in the Arab world and forced many in the Middle East and the West to sit-up and listen.

The Second is undoubtedly the economic state of our world today. Back in 1989 when Eastern Europe decided no more repressive communist rule, the economy was on a downwards turn too. Throughout history hardships and revolutions went hand in hand with man’s need for radical change – and this time, in 2011 the revolt is no difference to that of the late 80s and the ones before that.

Although, it is not easy for those at the heart of the struggle, the families, the friends and the loved ones – but the pain, the bloodshed and the lives lost have not been futile. Because every day since the streets of Tunisia erupted dictator after dictator and oppressor after oppressor are standing down.