Tunisia: Usaid Administrator Speaks On Expanding Human Welfare

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The defining story of the Arab Spring belongs to Mohammed Bouazizi, the young Tunisian fruit seller who set himself on fire, in protest of the humiliation he had received at the hands of local police.

In one act of desperation-a figurative explosion made literal-he reminded us that deep within every soul lies a desire for self-determination and its ensuing dignity. And he began a chain reaction that has changed the world we know.

The authoritarian winter that had gripped the Arab world for so long, finally began to thaw. Even though protestors in Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and eventually Syria met deadly resistance to their calls for freedom, the Arab Spring had begun.

It is a powerful story, one that resonates in all of us whether it stirs our empathy or calls us to the streets. It shows the power that individual human acts have to cause global and generational change.

But there is more to the Tunisian story.

Bouazizi's story doesn't mention the hundreds of protesters who rushed to the mayor's office immediately after he set himself aflame. It doesn't highlight their internal debate, as they first chanted "Dignity before bread!" before settling on the anti-corruption call: "Working is a duty, you thieves."

It doesn't describe the fearlessness protestors showed when fired upon by Tunisian police, or the thousands of young bloggers and amateur cell phone filmmakers who documented this violence and organized rallies on Facebook.

And it doesn't mention Rachid Ammar, the commanding general of the Tunisian Army who refused to order his troops to fire on protestors gathered in the capital. The day after General Ammar's brave decision, President Ben Ali fled.

That larger story-one of supporting people's desires for freedom and dignity, of determining the path of progress, of using technology to unite people, of empowering leaders to make courageous stands-is what I'd like to speak about today.

As a voice for vulnerable people around the world, I believe USAID can and should play a larger role.

President Obama and Secretary Clinton have both made clear that it will be the policy of the United States to promote reform and democratic transitions. As a result, we must work to elevate the importance of self-determination and human dignity in our foreign policy and in our approach to development.

For years, a criticism of USAID's assistance has been that we've worked too closely with governments that refuse to respect the rights of their people...

World Poetry Portfolio #30: Kwame Dawes | Molossus

Kwame Dawes is the author of fifteen books of poetry and editor of eight anthologies. Born in Ghana in 1962, he spent most of his childhood and early adult life in Jamaica. As a poet, he is profoundly influenced by the rhythms and textures of that lush place, citing in a recent interview his “spiritual, intellectual, and emotional engagement with reggae music.” His book Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius at the Lyric Hammersmith in London. Kwame Dawes was Distinguished Poet in Residence, Louis Frye Scudder Professor of Liberal Arts and Founder and executive Director of the South Carolina Poetry Initiative. He was also the director of the University of South Carolina Arts Institute and is the programming director of the Calabash International Literary Festival, which takes place in Jamaica in May of each year. Dawes is a regular blogger for the Poetry Foundation. Starting next year, he will be the Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner

I don’t know what happened,

you have another child now

and your husband is a doctor

in scrubs, who is shy about

your way of telling your secrets,

and his mother is in the living

room, she’s at home here,

and you keep talking about your

parents who will be coming,

and you seem younger

than before, though now

you are years older than me

for what you have seen:

the rupture, the words you invent

to sooth your son, the way

to start to love again

in a different language,

learning how not to giggle

at how red his face gets

just before he comes—so much

you have learned, so much

beyond me.  You cook

beautifully, the meal without

spice, like the calm ordinary

comforts of your small town,

trucks, snow plows, mowers,

fences, oak trees, cyclists.