A hard-working man from a poor background, Bouazizi had been the main provider for his family since he was 10 years old, selling fruit at the market. He left school at 19 so he could support his younger siblings' education.

Bouazizi died on 4 January 2011, at the age of 26, after setting himself on fire in protest against a system that kept him from making a decent living. He had often been a victim of the Tunisian law-enforcement agents, who would fine him, confiscate his produce and his scales and, on the last occasion, even wrestled him to the ground. His family believe it was the humiliation, not the poverty, that led him to self-immolation after he went looking for justice only to have it denied to him. Bouazizi doused himself in fuel and lit a flame outside the gates of the governorate building in the small town of Sidi Bouzid. A popular man, known for giving away produce for free to poorer families, and whose plight struck a chord with many, his act prompted protests that quickly spread, with Tunisians from all walks of life taking to the streets against a corrupt government, high unemployment and restrictions on their freedom.

Credits:

Host: Writer A MuthuKrishanan.

Show Producer: Karthick Raja

Podcast Executive: Prabhu Venkat.

Podcast Network Head - Niyas Ahamed M.