Friends of Tunisia Newsletter
February 2005
(an affiliate of the National Peace Corps Association)
P.O. Box 25245
Washington, DC 20027
Tel. 202-526-0897
fotrpcv@yahoo.com

REUNIONS, DINNERS, AND GOOD TIMES.
After a highly successful reunion last October at the California home of Susan (Kandarian) Gefvert, members of the "Tunisia 8" group - kindergarten teachers in 1966-68 - have decided to hold another reunion in March, this time on the east coast. Diane ("Diti") Gordon is coordinating the reunion, which will be held in Williamsburg, VA on March 17-24. Diti is hoping that members of Tunisia 8 who live in the east will be able to attend this reunion. Anyone interested should contact Diti at 1017 Belleforte, Oak Park, IL 60302. Tel. 708-848-2983. Email: dgordon@theramp.net.

In November, another group of FOT members gathered for a lively meal in Washington, DC. Bob Younes, the Peace Corps doctor in Tunis in the early '60s, organized the dinner, which was held at Mama Ayesha's restaurant on November 21. Most of those in attendance were PC volunteers from the '60s who lived in the DC area. Cous cous was the main course.

TUNISIAN HEADS "THE MUSLIM SOCIETY OF AMERICA."
The Muslim Society of America, a nationwide organization with 50 chapters, each closely allied with a local mosque, is headed by Souheil Ghannouchi, a nephew of Rashid Ghannouchi, a founder of the outlawed, fundamentalist Tunisian An-Nahda (Renaissance)political party. Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Falls Church, VA, the society includes members from many different nations, including some who belonged to the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood in their native lands. Mohammed Adam El Sheikh, a society spokesman, claims the society severed its relationship with the Brotherhood and is now independent of any authority from abroad. Indeed, the society seems to focus primarily on issues peculiar to Moslems in America. Ghannouchi, who has lived in the US for 20 years, is critical of American policy in the Mideast but has urged the 50 chapters to concentrate on the treatment of Moslems in their communities, especially since the start of the war on terror. He has also reminded society members, on the society's web page, that "we still enjoy many rights [in America] that Muslim activists do not enjoy in most Muslim countries."

Ghannouchi is also one of three board members of a large, somewhat conservative Northern Virginia mosque named Dar il Hijrah ("Land of Migration"). Founded in 1983, this $5 million mosque is known for the lack of women in its leadership, which has caused a new mosque in the area to be started. About 2,500 people attend services at the new mosque.

THE AMERICAN COOPERATIVE SCHOOL OF TUNISIA.

The American Cooperative School of Tunisia has been operating in the suburbs of Tunis since 1960.
Initially it provided classes in English to only the lower grades, but it has expanded over the years and is now accredited for grades K-12 and even pre-schoolers. Located near the American embassy, the school consists of an impressive complex of modern buildings (that can be viewed on the school's website www.acst.net). Although the embassy provides some financial support for the school, most funding comes from students' tuition. Which isn't cheap.

Tuition ranges from about $3,000 a year for pre-schoolers to about $12,000 a year for those in high school. On top of these charges is a hefty "annual building fee" as well as (optional) fees for bus transportation. Yet the school offers its 480 students excellent - and growing - facilities, including a modern gym. Furthermore, students in the upper level can choose between an American high school degree or an international baccalaureate degree. The students themselves are not just Americans, according to the school's director, Robert E. Thomson. Children from various English-speaking families attend the school. Currently, though, no Tunisian students are enrolled.

TUNISIAN STUDENTS INCLUDED IN INTERNATIONAL MATH TEST.
In 2003, 15-year-olds from 39 nations were tested for their abilities in math. Hong Kong was the top scorer, followed by Finland, Korea, and the Netherlands. France ranked 15th, and, the US ranked 24th. (In the US, 262 schools and 5,456 students participated.) Tunisia was also included in this study, and although it ranked last among the 39 tested nations - just below Mexico and Indonesia - the simple fact that it was included suggests that the country is now regarded as a "player" in the international arena. No other country from North Africa or the rest of Africa was included, and Tunisia's future ranking will undoubtedly improve.

POLITICAL CHANGES IN THE MAGHREB.
In Algeria, years of bloodshed may be coming to a close. The two top leaders of the Armed Islamic Group, Norredine Boudiafi and Chaabane Younes, were arrested in December, according to the Algerian Interior Ministry. The Salafist movement is still alive in Algeria, but at least the infamous AIG has suffered what has been termed a "near fatal blow."

In Morocco, things are really looking up. Last fall, the US Congress approved a free-trade agreement with Morocco. This makes Morocco the seventh country to receive that status. Others are: Canada, Mexico, Chile, Israel, Jordan, and Singapore. Tunisia, meanwhile, is beginning the process to achieve that status.

Another sign of improving times comes from an Associated Press article quoted in the Friends of Morocco newsletter. A truth commission, similar to the one in South Africa, has begun hearings about human rights abuses in Morocco dating back decades.
Over 22,000 submissions were made to the "Equity and Reconciliation Commission," which selected 250 for open public hearings about the major themes: disappearance, torture, and arbitrary detention.

ISLAM, GENDER, AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH.
On January 13, Lilia Labidi, a professor of psychology and anthropology at the University of Tunis, gave an interesting lecture about family planning in Tunisia at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. After outlining the history of the development of women's rights in Tunisia, she provided some statistics on the current break- down of the Tunisian
population:

According to Labidi, abortion is available to all women in Tunisia and the most common form of family planning since the early 1970s has been cutting fallopian tubes. One reason: in the 1970s, because of a shortage of trained personnel, doctors were brought in from China to assist in family planning. Because these doctors didn't understand French or Arabic, they performed a number of fallopian tube operations that weren't requested. The doctors simply assumed that, after one or two children, a woman would want her tubes cut. Today, Tunisia uses about 34 doctors and 115 midwives to perform insertions of IUDs, fallopian tube operations, abortions, and male sterilizations. (They are paid about $1 for an insertion and about $3 per operation.) In Algeria and Morocco, by contrast, family planning got started much later and relied much more heavily on the pill. This has meant, according to Labidi, higher birth rates in those countries, but their trends are downward, toward Tunisia's.

ANOTHER PROLIFIC PEACE CORPS AUTHOR.
After teaching at the Bourguiba School in Tunis in 1966-68, Bob Stam returned to the US where he obtained a doctorate in Comparative Literature at Berkeley. Afterwards he began a long career teaching and writing about film at New York University. In addition to numerous academic articles, he has written more than a dozen books. Among them:

-Literature through Film (2004)
-Multiculturalism, Postcoloniality,and Transnational Media (2003)
-Film Theory (2000)
-Tropical Multiculturalism: A Comparative History of Race in Brazilian Cinema and Culture (1997) -Unthinking Eurocentrism (1994) -New Vocabularies in Film Semiotics (1992) -Brazilian Cinema (1985)

Some of these books have been translated into other languages, and some are out of print. (See Amazon.com.) Yet for those who are interested, Bob is coming out with a new book this year: "Truffaut, Roche, Helen, Fraz, and Friends: Sexual Experiment-ation, Flaneur Modernism, and the Art of Adaption."

NEWS OF TUNISIA****TUNISIAN NEWS****NEWS OF TUNISIA

-The most recent count of AIDS victims in Tunisia located 1,200 cases, less than 0.1% of the population.
Since 1985, about 400 people have died of the disease in Tunisia.

- Recent weather has been nasty. In November, high winds and torrential rains caused 9 deaths and 70 people injured, mainly around Cap Bon. Winds were measured at over 140 km/hr and, in one case, overturned a truck. In December, an extreme cold wave, accompanied with snow, hit the mountainous region around LeKef and killed two elderly people.

- In October, President Ben Ali, who has been in office for 17 years, won re-election with 94% of the vote. Of the 4.6 million eligible voters, 91.5% voted. The candidate who obtained the second largest vote - 3.78% - is a relative of Ben Ali's wife.

-On November 8, in Kairouan, Tunisian police broke up a regional meeting of the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the electoral process that had just returned President Ben Ali to another term in office.

- Last year, President Ben Ali announced that a "National Translation Center" will be created in Tunis. The government will provide a 75% subsidy to offset the cost of paper used in making "cultural books, children's books, and high quality artistic books." A study will also be made to determine how to market Tunisian books abroad as well as how to guarantee the availability of Tunisian books at various international book fairs.

- Recent newspaper accounts in the US have described sad instances of sexual abuse of women by UN peacekeepers (the "Blue Helmets") in the Congo. In October, two Tunisian UN soldiers were returned to Tunisia from the Congo, charged with sexual abuse.

- In France, Serge Adda, director of French satellite TV5, died in December at the age of 56. He was a former president of the External Tunisian Communist Party.

-Amnesty International has applauded President Ben Ali for releasing over 80 people from prison in 2004.
Many of those released were members of the outlawed, fundamentalist An-Nadha Party and were in prison for as much as ten years. Although their release is conditioned on good behaviour, AI still commends the Tunisian president for this action and urges him to release all such prisoners without any imposed conditions.

-Italian government officials and many newspaper editorials were outraged on January 25 when an Italian judge dismissed terrorism charges against three Tunisians and two Moroccans. They had been charged with recruiting suicide bombers for Iraq. Several politicians called for disciplinary actions against Judge Clementina Forlco. Most Italian newspaper editorials condemned the decision. Italy has about 3,200 troops stationed in Iraq. An Italian soldier killed in Iraq was buried the same day the judge handed down her decision. The five remain in jail on other charges.

MEMBERSHIP: For FOT-only, send $15 to address at the head of newsletter. For combined NPCA and FOT membership, send $50 to NPCA, Suite 205, 1900 L Street, Washington, DC 20036. Specify your desired affiliation as Friends of Tunisia, not just "FOT."