Tunisia stuck in post-revolution limbo

From a time when ͞the walls had ears to post-revolution struggles seven years later, Tunisians are proud to have won their freedom of speech.

"Now, at least we can speak freely," proclaim Tunisians on the streets. Cafes, such as Le Parlement in Tunis, have become a forum for discussions and debates spurred on by the revolution.

Bardo,Tunisia's National Museum, was the scene of one of the two terror attacks in 2015, which left 24 people dead and the country's crucial tourism economy in tatters.

Twenty tourists were killed In Bardo, and another 38 in the resort town Sousse. Tunisia also has the highest number of "Islamic State" recruits, and has fought against an Islamist insurgency in the country's border regions.

The murders of secularist politicians Mohamed Brahmi and Chokri Belaid shocked the country in 2013; Tunis routinely sees demonstrators calling for justice.

Competing football club graffiti in Tunis suburbs. Some young Tunisians have pointed at the political apathy and disengagement, claiming that society focuses more on football rivalries than post-revolution politics.

A landmark law, which came into effect in February, made violence against women a criminal offence. Wafa Fraouis has been involved in women's issues since she was 15-years old. She was a member of the committees drafting the post-revolution constitution, enshrining gender equality in Tunisia's future. She is now director of Beity, the only shelter for vulnerable women in Tunis.

For many Tunisians, the only option to escape creeping poverty is the dangerous journey to Europe. Over 6,000 Tunisians reached Italy's shores in 2017 alone; over a third came in the space of two months, the sharpest increase since the 2011 revolution.

Inside a cafe, a group of men sit around plastic tables covered with coffee cups, as heaps of discarded cigarette butts pile underneath. "This is what unemployment looks like," says one of the regulars inside. At least three visitors in the small cafe have been deported from Italy.

Marwan, a regular at this cafe, says many Tunisians leave to escape prison sentences, provide for their families back home, or cut links with the past completely. "We departed together with five boats; three made it to Lampedusa." He spent four years in northern Italy, dealing drugs and saving enough for a house and marriage back home.

Hundreds of Tunisians who have tried to take the dangerous sea route across the Mediterranean have perished. Unmarked graves have popped up along Tunisia's coastline.