TUNIS: As day breaks over Tunis, Jamila Ghuili takes her two small children out into the streets to scavenge in waste bins for plastic bottles that she sells to buy food for her family.
Abandoned by her husband, the single mother lives in a poor part of Omrane Superieur, a neighborhood of the capital where Tunisia’s economic malaise is acutely felt.
“Everything has become expensive,” said Ghuili, as her children played next to her.
Exacerbated by the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic grievances have fueled discontent in Tunisia, leading to protests that encouraged President Kais Saied to remove the prime minister and assume governing authority last month.
Ghuili, 55, gathers a few kilograms of dirt-covered plastic each day, foraged from heaps of garbage dumped at the roadside.
The proceeds from selling the plastic, combined with limited financial assistance from the government, amount to 190 Tunisian dinars ($69) a month, around half her monthly rent.
Hamza Ayari, who buys the bottles and re-sells them to factories, says many people are doing the same. “They don’t have any other job, they are poor people,” he said.
Desperate for better lives, some of Omrane Superieur’s residents are hopeful about Saied’s move.
“I salute the people who voted for him, he is a good person,” said Fakhreddine Wannas, 56, a resident. “I hope he can take us out of the dark and into the light.”
It echoes sentiment expressed by other Tunisians who are fed up with political bickering and want to see an improvement in the economy — which shrank by 8.8 percent last year — and more effective action against COVID-19.
Saied, who was elected in 2019, says he will not become a dictator and that the actions he took on July 25, including the 30-day suspension of parliament, were constitutional. He has yet to set out next steps.
Soumaya, who paints henna tattoos for a living, expressed relief about the situation, saying that for a long time Tunisians did not know where they were heading. “Now we are all happy,” said Soumaya, as she painted a child’s hand.
Tunisians hope for better times ahead
https://arab.news/6k3xa
Tunisians hope for better times ahead
- The proceeds from selling the plastic, combined with limited financial assistance from the government
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 10,414
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index closed lower on Wednesday, shedding 38.85 points, or 0.37 percent, to finish at 10,414.06.
Total trading turnover on the benchmark index reached SR3.46 billion ($920 million), with 123 stocks advancing and 134 declining.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu also shed 41.61 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 23,428.67.
The MSCI Tadawul Index edged down 0.45 percent to 1,368.36.
Arabian Drilling Co. was the best-performing stock on the main market, with its share price rising 6.8 percent to SR102.90.
Naqi Water Co. gained 4.30 percent to SR58.25, while Saudi Ground Services Co. advanced 3.78 percent to SR38.42.
Tihama Advertising, Public Relations and Marketing Co. saw its share price fall 4.95 percent to SR16.31.
AlAhli REIT Fund 1 also declined 3.53 percent to SR6.29.
On the announcements front, United Mining Industries Co., listed on the parallel market, said it has begun commercial production of gypsum board at its plant in Yanbu.
In a Tadawul statement, the company said the financial impact of the project’s commercial production will be reflected in the first quarter of 2026.
United Mining Industries Co.’s share price was unchanged, closing at SR42.54.
Dkhoun National Trading Co. said its shareholders approved the board’s recommendation to distribute interim dividends on a semi-annual or quarterly basis for 2025.
According to a Tadawul statement, shareholders also approved transferring the balance of the company’s statutory reserve, valued at SR2.43 million, to retained earnings.
Dkhoun National Trading Co.’s shares saw no trades and closed at SR65.
