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The spark that ignited a revolution in the Arab world Revolutions are explosions of frustration and rage that build over time, sometimes over decades. Although their political roots are deep, it is often a single spark that ignites them — an assassination, perhaps, or one selfless act of defiance.
Feb. 26, 2011
A protester wearing a Tunisian flag makes his way past closed shops in the casbah toward sporadic gunfire in Tunis. Tunisia's revolution set off other protest movements across the Middle East.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
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Feb. 28, 2011
Manoubya Bouazizi, 48, talks about her son in the town of Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. Mohammed Bouazizi, a fruit vendor, set himself on fire after being frustrated by the corruption and arrogance of police at the fruit market, triggering the popular uprising that ended the rule of Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
Feb. 28, 2011
Manoubya Bouazizi warms her hands over a pot of coals at her home in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. Bouazizi's son Mohammed Bouazizi, 26, the sole provider for his family, faced bleak job prospects despite being a university graduate.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
Feb. 28, 2011
Samia Bouazizi, 19, and her mother, Manoubya Bouazizi, talk about Mohammed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire in December. The breaking point for Mohammed Bouazizi came when a policewoman who was trying to take his fruit slapped him in the face in front of about 50 witnesses. Manoubya Bouazizi said her son’s decision “was spontaneous, from the humiliation.”
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
Feb. 28, 2011
The fruit market in Sidi Bouzid. The death of vendor Mohammed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire, has resonated particularly among Tunisia's youths. "All of us know how he felt," one youth said. "For us, we call this the Revolution of Mohammed Bouazizi, not the Jasmine Revolution."
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
Feb. 28, 2011
Fellow fruit vendor Hassan Tili discusses Mohammed Bouazizi in the town of Sidi Bouzid. Tili said Bouazizi had threatened to set himself ablaze, but "we thought he was just talking."
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
Feb. 28, 2011
Banners and messages alluding to the revolution are posted around Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
Feb. 28, 2011
A Tunisian flag swirls in the wind above the grave of Mohammed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire in December.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
Feb. 26, 2011
Tunisian police officers chase after a protester in Tunis.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
Feb. 26, 2011
Protesters, chased by police officers, make their escape down a narrow street in Tunis.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
Feb. 26, 2011
Protesters make their voices heard in Tunis.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
Feb. 26, 2011
An eyewitness, left, is interviewed by Seyfallah Machat, a radio producer and reporter, as he calls in a live report from the casbah in Tunis.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
Feb. 26, 2011
Nouheb Daraoui, 13, poses for a portrait in the casbah in Tunis. "Tunisia lives" and the Tunisian flag are painted on his face.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 7, 2011
Egypt became the second site of revolution. Here, a soldier makes a phone call, partially obscured from view amid the Pyramids. The site has been under surveillance since the revolution started in Egypt.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 15, 2011
In downtown Cairo, a wall showcases messages from the revolution in Egypt.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 17, 2011
Ahmed Maher, shown in his office in Cairo, is a 30-year-old civil engineer who was driven to activism and says he endured torture -- electric shock and beatings -- after trying to organize earlier protests against Hosni Mubarak's regime. He helped coordinate the first major protests in Tahrir Square.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 5, 2011
New members of the 6th of April Movement gather in small groups in the courtyard of a dilapidated villa in Cairo. The group initially comprised youths who wanted to support workers going on strike on April 6, 2008, in the Egyptian town of Mahalla. It has grown into a large online movement that played a key role in mobilizing turnout for the Egyptian revolution.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 4, 2011
Wafar Suliman Zaki remembers those killed during protests in Tahrir Square in Cairo, with their faces shown on the placards she wears around her neck.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 13, 2011
Clothes hang in a Cairo market, a hint of normalcy after the revolution that toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 15, 2011
A group of girls buys trinkets relating to the revolution in Tahrir Square in Cairo.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 6, 2011
A government garden in the Imbaba neighborhood of Cairo. A resident said people are scared to visit, because it's a government garden.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 6, 2011
A man sleeps in his shack at a communal garden run by the government in the Imbaba neighborhood, a working-class community where activist Ahmed Maher organized supporters to march on Tahrir Square in Cairo.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 15, 2011
A bustling street in Cairo after the revolution.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 9, 2011
Egypt's revolt stirred protests across the Middle East and North Africa, including in Jordan. Here, tribesmen from rural areas linger outside the Royal Palace after making their way to the capital, Amman, following rumors that the king was giving away money.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 9, 2011
A Bedouin woman was among a group of several hundred people from the tribal areas who made the lengthy journey from their homes to the offices of the Royal Palace in Jordan after hearing rumors that the king was giving away money. Protests have been ongoing in Jordan for more than two months.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 9, 2011
Jordanian activist Muhammed al-Sunaid arrives at an Internet cafe near his home in Dhiban, Jordan. Like the Tunisian who inspired Arabs to rise up, Sunaid reached a breaking point: When he tried to appeal to Jordan's agricultural minister on behalf of neighbors whose rent exceeded their income, he was blocked, cuffed, muzzled and hit, in front of 200 friends and neighbors. Then he was sentenced to three months for insulting a public official and “causing a din that robs locals of their peace.”
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 9, 2011
Portraits of Saddam Hussein grace the walls of Jordanian activist Muhammed al-Sunaid's home in Dhiban, as his son Mouaid peers into the room. When a group of retired military generals heard about the budding revolt in the struggling countryside, they embraced Sunaid’s cause, hoping it might inspire popular demand for reform.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 9, 2011
Jordanian activist Muhammed al-Sunaid shares a laugh with his son Meqdad, 5, at their home in Dhiban, Jordan. Unlike in other places, Sunaid and other activists in Jordan have generally sought a series of reforms rather than the ouster of their leader. King Abdullah II still has wide support.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 8, 2011
Dentist and activist Fakhir Da'as, center, argues with Jordanian police officers guarding the parliament building during a small protest in Amman, the capital.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
March 9, 2011
A man wanders by a portrait of King Abdullah II of Jordan in the capital city of Amman. Banners and messages pledging alliance to the king are scattered throughout the city.
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
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