Thursday, May 12, 2011

Arab spring in Tunisia

Via Global Museum, this article about the cultural benefits of removing ignorant autocrats from power: Tunis museum flourishes after Ben Ali fall

Just as a fresh breeze now blows through the country's politics and press, Tunisia's cultural institutions too have the chance to flourish.

Instead of protecting the nation's treasures from the hands of former ruler Ben Ali and his wife, [Taher] Ghalia is heading up a major renovation project to bring them to the people.

"They weren't interested in culture. There was a trade in antiquities, but fortunately the Bardo wasn't touched," said Ghalia who clashed with the couple earlier in his career.

*snip*

"It wasn't even about politics," says Ghalia. "It was simply that these people weren't very educated and didn't bother about our heritage.

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