Those in the Forefront...

Anyone reading Tunisia’s modern history observes the following fact: the national liberation movement had invariably been led by people from that region of Tunisia extending from Soussa to El-Mahdia or Essahel (the coast) as we like to put it.

It’s no wonder that Essahel was home to Tunisia’s most prodigious sons: of course Bourguiba but also Mzali, Nouira, Hedi Chaker, etc. When you own the land and your life is inextricably tied to the olive tree you can’t afford to lose. You can’t just pack and leave. Exodus is out of the equation and your agenda is straightforward: fight and live or fight and die. To live was the rule. To leave was an unknown verb.

But why? After all, the people of the South owned big chunks of land too and the same applied to Djerbians. Here’s a possible explanation: the people of the coast brought in something new. Since they were relatively wealthier than most of the people and more open thanks to the "amalgam" and diversity any coastal area brings, they could afford to send their children to the best schools (the Sadiki college and then to France) and so the new generation developed a sense of diplomacy and realism. Yet they didn’t lose their deep-rooted ties. The sheer force didn’t lose any momentum yet again there were still “feet on the ground”.

It always occurs to my mind the sequence of Slah Msaddak in a Tunisian serial (forgot the title) walking in the house in his Djebba and Chechiya and asking his “Yamma” to get him his lunch (Couscous in the tibsi, Tabouna bread and the ubiquitous olive oil and olives). He was discussing with her the latest news of “El Fallaga” (the fighters). But it also occurs to my mind the position of refusal of Bourguiba to support the Germans during the WWII only to be the only Arab leader not to cut the diplomatic relations with the Republic of West Germany after they recognized Israel during the 60’s: Realism and vision again with no “on-the-spur-of-the-moment” reactions. I like to call it the “Chirchillian approach”: Realpolotik bearing into mind national interests as THE ultimate goal.

I, for one, come from the region of the Cap Bon where we endured horrible carnages committed by the French in the region of Menzel Temim and Haouria. Still, we haven’t been able to deliver as many leaders as our neighbors with whom we share the most vibrant tourist destination in Tunisia, namely “Hammamet Sud”. Maybe that’s why both my uncles are big fans of L’Etoile. A thing I haven’ been able to grasp until recently!

They (people of the coast) might not have been the best businessmen (that credit goes to the Djerbians) but they definitely were the best diplomats around. I do understand this and I reiterate my deepest expressions of love, friendship and respect.

To every Sahli and Sahlia reading these lines, from me, a firm hand shake, a soft look and a big smile!