[NB: This column was written on Wednesday, February 16, 2011]
When the policewoman slapped the young fruit-seller on the street in Sidi Bouzid a week before Christmas, she was not thinking of Hosni Mubarak, the Pharaoh of Egypt. Nevertheless her action set off an tsunami of grief and fury that is quickly transforming the Middle East, and will probably wash Mubarak clean out of Cairo.
Mohamed Bouazizi, 26 years old, was desperately trying to support his family by illegally selling fruit from a push-cart. After the policewoman seized his cart and insulted him, he went to the regional governor seeking redress. Rebuffed, he bought some paint thinner and set himself on fire. His death triggered a push-and-shove of protests and repression that ultimately ended the 23-year reign of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali – and soon spread to Jordan, Yemen and other countries, particularly Egypt.
