SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: With the dictatorship gone, Tunisians can finally say what they think. Many are optimistic that, after decades of living under an autocratic cleptocracy, the future is bright. But the new government in Tunis has gotten off to a rocky start.
"All of this is owed to the grace of God," reads the epigram over the front gate of the Villa Adel Trabelsis in Tunis. The gate's doors are gone, having been ripped off by plunderers. Other furnishings -- including beds, curtains, light switches, bathroom tiles and banisters -- are likewise missing. They took it all. What they couldn't carry away was set on fire.
Last week, this was the home of the brother-in-law of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia's toppled dictator. The second floor of the house now looks like a soot-covered cave. A wall-mounted cupboard is now nothing more than a pile of embers. One enraged Tunisian used a piece of the charcoal as an impromptu writing instrument, crossing out the word "God" on the portal and replacing it with "the people" in soot lettering: "All of this is owed to the grace of the people."
Driving along the coastal street running through Tunis' upscale al-Masra suburb is a feast for the eyes. White villas are surrounded by lush gardens. Doors and window grills are painted in Mediterranean blue. This week, for a change, al-Masra is not swarming with foreign tourists; they were evacuated because of the revolt launched against Ben Ali's regime in recent weeks. Those who can be seen rummaging around and within the fire-gutted villas are all Tunisians. They have come to see with their own eyes what a kleptocracy looks like.
Until just a few days ago, Tunisians could only speak in whispers about the untold riches acquired by the large extended Trabelsi family of Ben Ali's second wife. Now many want to take a look at the greed that ultimately cost Ben Ali his 23-year rule. Still, they show a preference for wit over hatred when inspecting the ruins. One man, upon seeing a package of Xanax anti-depressants, quips: "The Trabelsis really should have taken these along to Saudi Arabia. They could really use them now." >>> Ulrike Putz in Tunis | Tuesday, January 18, 2011
