Tunisia

Tunisia is a North African country

Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea,

Rich with cultural diversity,

Proud of a long and varied history

Tunisia has existed for millennia

Its roots grew deep in every era

Attracted the greedy whose mania

Was for expansion and eudemonia

It fascinated the people of Phoenicia

Who founded the cities of Carthage and Utica

Neighbouring the land of Numidia

And flourished solely in its paradisiacal arena

Carthage became the envy of the Roman Empire

That waged in three Punic wars and set the city on fire

Then garnished the entire area with Roman attire

That has stood still for centuries and refused to expire

Other civilizations succeeded to the land of Tunisia

The Vandals came and so did people from Arabia

Then the Ottoman Empire usurped the area

And retained it until the French colonial era

A resistance was born to struggle for national liberation

Seventy-five years needed to become an independent nation

Habib Bourguiba led the independence generation

To build the nation focusing on public health and education

The prospect of enjoying democracy was but a dream

The first leader started a well-tailored autocratic regime

After thirty-one years, a new tyrant burst on the scene

But overthrown by the oppressed population’s piercing scream

The Jasmine Revolution brought relief and liberty

And has inspired the whole world of the possibility

Of change and overturning any tyranny

And become the masters of their own destiny

The prospect of democracy is no longer a dream

Despite terrorism and chaos, we still see a gleam

We, Tunisians, never melt like sun cream

We can swim against any evil stream 

© Chaouki M’kaddem

June 18th, 2013