From Tunisia, with love

BEAUTIFUL SAPPHIRE blue seas, emerald landscape and friendly people make Tunisia a wonderful destination for holiday, study and cultural interaction. With its ideal climate and a long seacoast, this country at the northernmost tip of Africa has for over 3000 years witnessed the passage of the Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Turks, Spanish and the French. They came as fugitives or adventurers to conquer or to claim, warriors and missionaries, traders and farmers each leaving a part of their story in stone or mosaics on the hills of Carthage and the threshold of the Sahara.

And it is from here that a notable representative made all the wonders of his country known to those who met him in Chennai recently. Dr. Mohamed Sahbi Basly, the Ambassador of Tunisia to India was here to inaugurate the Indo-Tunisia Friendship Association.

Erudite and soft-spoken, Dr. Mohamed is passionate about his country without the jingoistic tendencies one would expect from a politician - he is a diplomat and a very suave one at that. Meeting him over coffee the next day there was much that one learnt about the man who is trying to bring Tunisia and India closer, considering there is so much that is similar and yet divergent. Some excerpts.

A politician and a doctor - how does the synergy work?

He laughs. "I'm not sure that I really am a diplomat! I am first a doctor and that is something that is going to stay with me for as long as I'm active. (Dr. Mohamed had got his doctorate in medicine, specialising in public health and environment and has also done his post graduate studies on occupational health and safety from Canada and from the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. He was also a lecture at the Tunis faculty of medicine and the Institute of Labor and Social Affairs along with being president and member of jury of doctoral thesis and master thesis in medicine and social welfare.) As a doctor despite my political career I am on call all the time. We swear by the Holy Koran, so it's a duty forever. Besides this the medical profession has helped me a lot in politics. It has taken me closer to the people.

Has poverty been effectively alleviated in Tunisia?

Alleviation of poverty is something the country can really be proud of. Poverty is the main challenge of the millennium. While the international community seems to be keen on promoting peace and stopping the arms race, there must be concerted efforts to focus on poverty alleviation.

In the last session of the United Nations, my President Ben Ali urged the international community to create an International Solidarity Fund for poverty alleviation. This experiment has been successful in our country. Our own National Solidarity Fund created through donations and a fund collection drive is used for the benefit of the people.

How does it work?

Well it is a fund where anyone can contribute any amount - whether it is one dollar or even a thousand. We started this in 1992 and by 2000, the social and economic life of the people improved enormously.

The President himself manages the fund. We made people aware of the benefits of this idea.

Besides collecting money, people are asked what they would want on a priority basis. The work is then taken up coordinated by the Regional Councils. As a Governor, I receive their requests and prioritise.

Would this model work for India?

Tunisia is a small country but it could be successful even in India. The Prime Minister Mr. Vajpayee and Mr. Jaswant Singh have been keen to know more about this Tunisian experience.

How has fundamentalism been contained?

Tunisia has 99 per cent Muslims. Whether it is Islam, Christianity or Judaism, fundamentalism exists when you are economically weak. The misuse of Islam for political purpose is unfortunately the most dangerous thing happening today. In our case, once the basic needs were fulfilled people have not turned to fundamentalism.

On issues of divorce and the role of women

We are perhaps the only Muslim country in the world where divorce is through a civil court, and through a Tribunal Law. Women have as much right to divorce as men and the court provides them with protection towards that. Also she cannot be forced to marry against her wishes.

Women in Tunisia have access to all kinds of work without discrimination, and they are paid as much as the men. There are many women entrepreneurs who are doing extremely well and contributing robustly to the economy. In fact, the World Association Of Women's Entrepreneurs is headed by a Tunisian. She was in India last year to renew the Indian chapter.

Polygamy is illegal, thanks to the progressive approach of my President. Twenty per cent of the seats in all electoral bodies are allocated to women and the Vice-President of the Parliament is always a woman.

What about the culture and the performing arts?

We have a very rich culture. It's not easy to talk about something that is more than 3000 years old. As you know, the country is gifted by its location and we have three dimensions - geographically we are part of Africa, close to Europe physically and culturally and politically part of the Arab world. The Muslim world so to say. But our first identity I may say is Mediterranean - shared by Europe on the north and North Africa on the south.

Do India and Tunisia have much in common?

Indian and Tunisian heritage are similar. We both belong to societies rich in tradition and culture. I feel so much at home in India just as you would in my country. Like the multi-cultural Indian society, we are a combination of Romans, Greeks, Turks, French, Arab and Jews. The very first settlement of Jews outside Jerusalem was in Tunisia and so chronology wise the first Tunisians were Jews then came Christianity and Islam.

What impressions would you take back from India?

Actually, I did not have any special ideas about India before I came - only heard about Gandhi, the non-Aligned Movement and a bit from the Indian movies. I remember seeing 'Mother India' and marveling at the beauty of this landscape and about the caste system, which is difficult to understand. But having come here I feel so much at home simply because the people are so wonderful. Everyday I learn something new. I have discovered Asia through India.

CHITRA MAHESH

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