CHAPTER III - HEALTH, FOOD AND WATER SECURITY

Summary

The Tunisian uprising that toppled the Ben Ali government was waiting to happen. Regime decay caused by repression, corruption and autocratic rule has been eating into the system. Were climate change and food insecurity the hidden triggers that caused the political tremors?

Did climate change and food insecurity have a hand in the Tunisian revolution? In this surprising people power revolt that exploded at the start of 2011, the usual recipe for an uprising was at play—fundamental underlying issues like repression, autocratic rule, corruption and growing unemployment. But the trigger or the immediate cause, significantly, was fuel and food, especially rising food prices. The rising food prices that shook Tunisia—and brought down the Ben Ali government—came at a time when global food prices broke record highs at the turn of the New Year. Erratic global weather patterns caused by climate change have affected the supply of crops and grains.

The resulting shortage pushed up prices, hitting the unemployed worst, and unleashing the long-standing pent-up resentment that has since transformed into, and inspired popular protests beyond Tunisia—into neighbouring states such as Egypt, Yemen and Jordan. In other words, what we are witnessing now in North Africa and the Arab world is the political impact of climate change. The implications are obvious: what if the global climate gets worse, and food scarcity turns into a huge global crisis affecting human security? Will Southeast Asia be spared from such a dire scenario?

Rising Prices and the Tunisian Revolt

It all began on 17 December 2010 when an unemployed engineering graduate burnt himself when his fruit and vegetables push-cart was taken away by overzealous authorities. His death shocked not only Tunisia but also the rest of the Maghreb and Arab world where self-immolation is unprecedented. Taking one's own life, just as suicide bombings, is against their religion, Islam. That it was resorted to speaks immensely of what must have been the intense frustration of the people. The act resonated immediately with the wider population, triggering a revolt against the Zine Ebidine Ben Ali government.