Sihem BensedrineFor the complete report in Cafebabel click on this link
Sihem Bensedrine, Ben Ali’s fearless antagonist- by Alexandra Thimm
Tunisian journalist Sihem Bensedrine, 56, was threatened, imprisoned and tortured in her native country – but not silenced. You only have to spend five minutes with Sihem Bensedrine to feel the fierce commitment of this petite woman. Four years ago, Bensedrine was exiled to Hamburg. Here, in an old building in the Schanzen district, she lives in an apartment with her family. Her daughter goes to school in Hamburg and her son studies in France.
In 1987, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali staged a coup d’état in Tunisia. He abolished press freedom at the beginning of the 90s and fought Islamist fundamentals in the country. "Many people were tortured to death," Bensedrine says.Yet her activism made her a dangerous target for Ben Ali. Bensedrine was defamed and beaten on the street on repeated occasions. In 2000, her ribs were broken, and her spine and one of her eyes damaged while in prison. In 2002, the Hamburg Foundation for the Politically Persecuted invited Bensedrine to stay in their town for a year. She is now a guest of the International Authors Association, PEN, in Germany. Bensedrine likes Germany. As long as there is no change of government in her country, she would like to stay. The Tunisians appreciates the Germans and their way of life. "I like it that people don’t cross the street when the lights are red. Here people respect rules,” she says with a smile. “In my country, there are no laws that apply to everyone and which can be used as a reference.”
During her exile, Bensedrine and her husband Omar Mestiri wrote a book entitled "Despoten vor Europas Haustür" (“Despots on Europe’s Doorstep”), in which she criticises the EU’s support for the authoritarian regimes in North Africa. "If Europe’s democratic heads of state tolerate dictators in Africa, then they shouldn’t be surprised that people from these countries try to flee to Europe."
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