20110509
reuters

People in the shabby Tunisian city where a street vendor set himself on fire last December have seen two Arab leaders fall in the wave of protests they started. But they see little change in their lives.

The suicidal act of Mohamed Bouazizi, a trader whose vegetables and scales had been confiscated by the police, marked the start of an uprising that toppled the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt and is still convulsing the Arab world.

Elections are due in July, but residents in the cradle of the "Arab Spring" say few of the problems that pushed them to take to the streets have been addressed five months later.

"I joined in the demonstrations. I fought with the police, I did everything," said Hassan Masoudi, 40, a trader who worked alongside Bouazizi, as he hawked bananas, apples and oranges across from the government building where the first protests were staged.

"I have four children and I can't afford a house. Personally, I need assistance from the new government. But there hasn't been any yet."

Sidi Bouzid's poverty is obvious. Its worn streets are dotted with weeds, drivers fill gas tanks from plastic jerrycans at roadside stands, and workers ride down miles of rough country road to reach jobs in the relatively affluent port town of Sfax.

"Tourism, the economy, the money, all of it is in the north," 22-year-old Sidi Bouzid resident Okba Nseiri said. "The south doesn't see any of it."

Like others, he said he was sceptical of the new political parties springing up after the flight of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January -- more than 50 have been established so far. He does not plan to vote in the upcoming elections.