Angry Friday

From the few (well, none) e-mails that I have received on the subject, I have divined that you, the reading public are either really behind or really up-to-date on current events in North Africa at present.

Firstly let me say that here in Fes, aside from all the rain, we're ok.

Now, isn't it an amazing although not exactly positive time to be alive. Within the space of a month, two North African governments have either been overthrown or completely reshuffled. The strength of the people has been shown to it's fullest and unfortunately most chaotic. And of course there are talks of Jordan following suit, along with several other countries who are politically unstable.

The cause of the controversy is the cost of living, which in parts of North Africa has become unbearable. The tipping point in Tunisia came in mid-December when a fruit seller set himself alight in the street after his fruit was confiscated because he had no licence to sell it. He was hailed as a martyr and from there the rebellion blossomed into the affair it is now. Egyptians quickly followed suit.

Politics does not normally interest me very much, principally because I don't understand a lot of it, and I am hugely against taking a standpoint without knowing all the facts. But even if you are that person, I urge you to keep up-to-date with this. And I wish the best to my friends who are currently studying in Alexandria, in Egypt, and I hope that they keep safe.

For the latest news, a good source is of course the BBC News Homepage.