“Death by fire: Self-immolation in the Arab World”
Ein interessanter Artikel bei der Deutschen Welle über die folgenreichen Selbstverbrennungen in mehreren afrikanischen und arabischen Ländern nach dem Tod von Mohammed Bouazizi im Dezember 2010.
Copycat effect
Since Bouazizi’s suicide, dozens of people from Morocco to Yemen have lit themselves on fire in public places. These self-immolations usually occur in front of government buildings or other public places and are often carried out by financially strapped people who have been denied services by indifferent bureaucracies.
In Egypt, a restaurant owner lit himself on fire in front of the parliament building in Cairo after being denied subsidized bread. A lawyer did the same a day later to protest rising prices. An Algerian woman in a small town southwest of Algiers tried to set herself in flames in front of a municipal building after being denied housing aid. And in the West African country of Mauritania, a man tried to light himself on fire in front of the Senate and presidential buildings in protest against poor governance.
These incidents – and many others – all happened within days of each other in January as the political unrest, which began in Tunisia, began to spread across North Africa. Sociology professor Biggs attributes the spate of self-immolations to Bouazizi’s suicide in December and the subsequent successful revolution in Tunisia.
“One single person’s action can make a huge difference,” Biggs said. “If we could go back and stop Bouazizi from killing himself then I’m sure there would have been no subsequent suicides or self-immolations in North Africa.”
“It was precisely because his action was spectacular and spectacularly successful. It seemed to bring about a train of events that led to the overthrow of the regime.”
Quelle: Death by fire: Self-immolation in the Arab World
Die Dynamik hinter solchen Selbstverbrennungswellen ist noch weitgehend ungeklärt. Bereits 2004 hatten fünf arbeitslose Männer in Marokko versucht, sich während eines Polizeiangriffs auf eine Demonstration zu verbrennen. Dies hatte jedoch kaum politische Konsequenzen und führte zu keinen weiteren Suiziden.
