
A Tunisian Family: High hopes, desperate lives | Al Jazeera World
10/06/21 • 45 min
1 Listener
There is little money for the family of six that is heavily dependent on their ageing father and the eldest son. Some hard choices need to be made. The two teenage boys consider whether to complete their education in Tunisia or risk everything by taking an illegal boat trip to Europe. They think they stand a better chance of getting European residency if they land in Europe as minors – but their agonising choice has no certain outcome.
The parents balance the reality of trying to feed their family against the aspirations of the younger generation. They want different opportunities, careers, experiences, and modern consumer goods - all of which are unattainable on a brick labourer’s wage in a struggling economy.
Like many around them, the Tormsi family have largely given up on Tunisian politics and are disillusioned about the near future. The 2011 revolution offered high hopes for the nation, but many people remain poor and this optimism has faded. Despite the difficulties, the family retain a degree of positivity and believe there are many other Tunisians worse off than the
There is little money for the family of six that is heavily dependent on their ageing father and the eldest son. Some hard choices need to be made. The two teenage boys consider whether to complete their education in Tunisia or risk everything by taking an illegal boat trip to Europe. They think they stand a better chance of getting European residency if they land in Europe as minors – but their agonising choice has no certain outcome.
The parents balance the reality of trying to feed their family against the aspirations of the younger generation. They want different opportunities, careers, experiences, and modern consumer goods - all of which are unattainable on a brick labourer’s wage in a struggling economy.
Like many around them, the Tormsi family have largely given up on Tunisian politics and are disillusioned about the near future. The 2011 revolution offered high hopes for the nation, but many people remain poor and this optimism has faded. Despite the difficulties, the family retain a degree of positivity and believe there are many other Tunisians worse off than the
Previous Episode

Gaza: 60-Minute Warning | Al Jazeera World
In May 2021, missiles from Israeli jets struck and completely demolished four towers in Gaza – that is a fact. What was not clear was the reason for the attacks. Why were these buildings selected for destruction?
Israel claimed the towers were used by Hamas, whose military wing was launching rocket attacks on Israeli towns and cities at the time. Local Palestinians in Gaza, as well as international media and political leaders, disputed this and maintained that the towers housed only businesses, residential apartments and media organisations, including Al Jazeera Media Network and American news agency The Associated Press.
This film charts the story of the attacks - from the 60-minute evacuation warning to the question of the cost of rebuilding - and seeks to establish why these towers were singled out, bombed and destroyed.
Next Episode

Samaritan Weddings: Signed, Sealed, Delivered | Al Jazeera World
The Samaritans are a tiny ethnic-religious community dating back almost 3,000 years – and they are a population in crisis. But perhaps not for long. Marriage agencies in Ukraine have arranged for more than a dozen women to marry into the Samaritan community in Palestine.
Many Samaritans live in a mountain village near Nablus in the occupied West Bank and face a worrying numbers problem. There are only 800 surviving Samaritans, where once they were counted in their thousands. Men outnumber women by three to one. Their custom is that a young Samaritan man can only marry a woman from within the community if he has a sister who he can offer as a bride in return.
Faced with a fight for survival, a Samaritan religious leader changed the rules to allow Samaritan men to marry women from abroad. While some traditional Samaritans initially resisted the arrival of several Ukrainian brides into this close-knit community, the women are adapting to their new surroundings and providing a population lifeline to this small community.
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/al-jazeera-world-35217/a-tunisian-family-high-hopes-desperate-lives-al-jazeera-world-16992257"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to a tunisian family: high hopes, desperate lives | al jazeera world on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy