Several professors and specialists confirmed during a discussion seminar organized by the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy on Thursday, October 22, 2020, covering the increase of crime in Tunisia: The reasons and methods to deal with it, that the phenomenon of crime in the Tunisian society now requires depth study from all sides, especially after the heinous crimes that rocked the country recently, including the abduction and killing of the young Farah in the capital, and the murder of the young Haifa in Kairouan by her friend, and the killing of the old man in Kasserine after the destruction of the booth while sleeping within almost one week.
during this remote seminar through the Zoom app, the live broadcast on the center official Facebook page, under the direction of the vice president of the center and journalist Salahuddin Al-Jurshi, enumerated the causes of the crime, they have taken responsibility for the family and school, as well as the weakness of the state, its inability to apply the law and keep up with the developments witnessed in the Tunisian society.
Crime increased .. and bad contexts existed in Tunisia
Mahdi Mabrouk, president of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Study and former minister of culture and a sociologist who attended the seminar, said that the crime has a human and moral cost, but it is also a rare opportunity for specialists to understand the issue objectively, away from investing in it to strike a political opponent or any other party.
The French Revolution, the Iranian Revolution, the wars in Iraq, Somalia, and others have all witnessed major transformations, and the collapse of societies has accompanied them, Mehdi Mabrouk said.
Mabrouk added that from 2010 to 2020, Tunisia also witnessed new forms of crimes, other than that they were not of an absolute level of escalation, but rather a fluctuating level, which means that crimes in the Tunisian society have not reached a record yet.
The prevailing belief in the high level of crimes in Tunisia is explained by the media coverage and the freedom to do so, in addition to the intensive promotion in social media. He pointed out that for example, 101 rape cases were recorded between 2014 and 2015, 61 rape cases between 2015 and 2016, and 97 cases between 22 16, 2017, and 102 cases between 2018 and 2019. Tunisia is not in the first place in the Arab world in terms of crimes, he said.
Despite its fluctuation, Mahdi Mabrouk said that if we place these crimes under the microscope of social and humanitarian laboratories, we would find that they point to the sick in Tunisia, which shows that they came in a difficult economic context in which the factors, including marginalization and school dropout, are intertwined.
Mabrouk also talked about the political role of this phenomenon, stressing that the authority in its fragmentation and inability to implement law and justice among all, whether through collusion or tolerance or lack of harmony, has a great deal to do with the phenomenon, which led to the idea of law and a just state no longer prevail in society.
"We have a weak state that undermines itself by making mistakes," Mabrouk added, recalling the killing of a citizen in Kasserine Province during the demolition of a shack that was built chaotically while he was sleeping in it. He pointed out that in this case, the state lost the status of a state that was a protector and a just, and turned into a party that encourages disrespect for the law and non-compliance.
To address this phenomenon, Mahdi Mabrouk considered educational reform a major bet today and the state should not miss this opportunity. He also considered that the media has an important role in changing the Tunisian reality from an incubator to an environment that reduces crime.
Lack of psychological comfort ... and an external situation crisis
For his part, the psychiatrist and researcher in psychological and social issues, Dr. Ahmed Al-Abyadh, said that several factors have led to the rise in crime in Tunisia, and it is mainly internal and external.
In his intervention, the doctor talked about a person’s ability to be a criminal, pointing out that the Holy Qur’an and schools of psychology, including “Freud”, were exposed to this issue, as the latter says that the soul has two aspects: love and life, and the destructive tendency.
He added that these two sides are in conflict, and the problem is how people can find a balance between them, "especially in light of the volatile conditions in which Tunisia is going through."
Concerning external factors, the doctor said that the fragile social conditions and the multiplication of work values, education on the mentality of complaining not being satisfied with what is present and focusing on what is not present, abandoning responsibility and searching for an excuse and a scapegoat that justifies the actions of the individual leads to a kind From tension, violence, and crime as well.
He also showed that academic failure and the pursuit of 'killing time' by sitting for long in cafes in exchange for abandoning other activities and duties, overcrowding in neighborhoods and what sometimes entails chaos and lack of dialogue, and the absence of father’s authority and symbolism in The home are all factors that make children legitimate criminals.
He added that the school’s abandonment of its educational role, exposing the child to violence within the family space, the absence of a reformist moderate religious discourse, and “the high level of violence in Tunisian soap operas are all factors that have combined and fueled the level of crime in Tunisian society, especially in recent years.
Deformities of the family and the school ... an incubator of crime
Researchers at the Center for Economic and Social Studies and Research, Dr. Sami Braham, indicated that the tendency towards criminality today in Tunisia is a natural product of the disturbance of values in society and the decline of the role of value references.
Sami Braham explained, in his speech during the symposium, that every person needs a reference that draws him to life and derives from it his balance and usefulness of his life, but this reference was defective in Tunisia, which led to selfishness and individualism.
Brahm enumerated these references, which are mainly the family, the school, the state, and other spaces with a value dimension.
According to Dr. Braham, the Tunisian family suffers from major defects and deformities and is an incubator for the crime at times, so that some families make from their children deformed persons.
One of the manifestations of this, according to Braham, is the abandonment of the father and brother from their role within the family, and at other times their presence complicates the situation due to the control and violence they exercise, stressing that the Tunisian family today needs deep studies.
He also explained that the school abandoned the presentation of the value contents that create a balanced student, and the value content embodying the balance between religion and modernist principles was absent in it, which created a kind of dichotomy and imbalance in the student’s thinking, referring in the same context to the state abandoning its role and committing mistakes During processing.
And the doctor indicated that this matter caused a collision of references and defeated the balance of the Tunisian, which resulted in a weakness in the level of crime sense in exchange for the increase in the tendency to simplify these crimes and the emergence of the idea of individual retribution and not through the judiciary, which in turn became questionable in light of impunity.
And Sami Braham confirmed that the criminal is the last episode in the crime and he is a tool for the execution of a crime in which many of that family participated, stressing that if the successive fractures within the individual are not addressed and the values are not explained to him, violence is considered a natural consequence.
community responsibility to reform
Radwan al-Masmoudi, head of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, said that there is a misunderstanding of the state role in Tunisia, as it always demands reform, change, and framing, which requires changing this mindset.
In his speech, Al-Masmoudi emphasized the need for the people to initiate reform in all its components, including individuals, civil society, parties, and others, especially since the state is now in a suffocating economic crisis and bureaucracy has strained.
In this regard, Al-Masmoudi called on every one to engage in the reform process, including dealing with the crime phenomenon. He noted that 90% of the reform is in the hands of society, citizens, individuals, civil society and the "state is not the awaited Mahdi" to offer magical solutions.
virtual reaction
The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) chose to hold the seminar "remotely" via Zoom webinar and live streaming via the center Facebook page, in the form of the health protocol and to protect users from Coronavirus infection.
Although it is a new experience imposed by the health situation, the seminar was very popular and attended by about 100 people and 25,000 people in the live webcast, in addition to a large number of comments and posts.
The audiences were allowed to discuss and ask the lecturers questions, and there was a rich virtual interaction, and all the questions were answered.
Recommendations:
Specialists recommended:
Providing psychological care for the child and "building a healthy individual."
Re-regard the role of the father and mother in the family without excessive or negligence.
Re-regard for morals and values in society.
- Carrying out educational reform and giving importance to human, moral and religious values in all its axes.
- Mosques and places of worship bear their role in awareness and guidance.
The state should bear its responsibility to respect the rights and protection of individuals on the one hand, and justice and enforce the law on the other hand.
- The initiative of the people, civil society, intellectuals, and all components of society to reform to support the efforts of the state.
