Image from Politically Illustrated

As the world watches on in anticipation of what is happening in Tunisia, and as we all contemplate on the possible long term ramifications of popular protests such as these in North Africa and Arab countries, I stumbled upon an excerpt describing the situation in Tunisia that I think even applies to us, even if what Sri Lanka is experiencing is not the same as the brutal, repressive and clearly self-proclaimed dictatorship of Ben Ali in Tunisia:

Written by Christopher Alexander for Foreign Policy:

The regime also lost some of its earlier deftness. Its methods became less creative and more transparently brutal. The government seemed less willing to at least play at any dialogue with critics or opposition parties. Arbitrary arrests, control of the print media and Internet access, and physical attacks on journalists and human rights and opposition-party activists became more common. So, too, did stories of corruption — not the usual kickbacks and favoritism that one might expect, but truly mafia-grade criminality that lined the pockets of Ben Ali’s wife and her family. The growth of Facebook, Twitter, and a Tunisian blogosphere — much of it based outside the country — made it increasingly easy for Tunisians to learn about the latest arrest, beating, or illicit business deal involving the president’s family.

It’s interesting how, while many people continue to complain about globalization and the depletion of culture brought about by such phenomenons as ‘Americanization’ and ‘Westernization,’ we are also experiencing certain powerful albeit young movements that are becoming potent in creating change and in advertising the voice of everyday citizens. Bloggers and citizen journalists around the world are daring to say what they would be afraid of publishing in a newspaper with their name as a byline. Even if they were not fearful, their content would most likely not have been published if the media is repressive and/or state run.

In developed countries such as the US, media is not censored per se, but heavily influenced by which news corporation  you choose to follow, each with a heavy leaning bias towards either the Democracts and Republicans. In developing countries, the case usually is that this partisan dialogue (as disturbing as parts of it may be) does not exist. Yet in both contexts, there has been a rise in the number of people saying, “Enough is enough, I can’t tolerate this anymore.” What has resulted is a growth in the alternate forms of media. Whether you follow Democracy Now, the Young Turks or Alternet in the US, or whether you are avid reader of Groundviews and the Sri Lankan Guardian back home,  or even if you choose to forego the ‘news’ route altogether and choose to get your dose of current affairs through blogs written by everyday people, you have made a conscious choice by discarding other more popular and common options for something that you are willing to place trust in.

The voices of dissent just got louder.