Mohamed El Hadi, Mohamed Bouazizi's cousin and neighbor, poses in front of Bouazizi's house in Sidi Bouzid town in Tunisia. (Photo: Karem Yehia)
Nothing has changed for the residents of Sidi Bouzid, the town where street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire five years ago, sparking the Tunisian revolution, Bouazizi's cousin told Ahram Online.
"Unemployment rate is about the same, the neighbourhood remains in the same condition," said Mohamed El-Hadi, who was also Bouazizi's neighbour.
Bouazizi set himself on fire on 17 December in front of a local municipal office after his produce was confiscated by a government inspector.
Ahram Online visited Al-Nour, a western district of the town of Sidi Bouzid, which remains in an impoverished condition. The street where the street vendor lived does not have a name and his home does not have a number. There is no street lighting and no paved road.
The house in which he lived with his step-father and six siblings is small, with just two rooms.
Since the revolution, which led to the ouster of President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, his mother has migrated to Canada with one of his sisters.
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