BIRDNEST
The Bimonthly Reader’s Digest of the Network of
March 21, 2008
English-Speaking Tunisians.
A word of
welcome
As of March 2008 about 300
compatriots have responded
to the call for a network of
English-speaking Tunisians to
be launched. Among them
there are scientists, engineers,
managers, social scientists,
and medics. They may be
living in Tunisia, the US, the
UK, Ireland, Canada, Japan,
Hong Kong, or Singapore,
but they all have in common
a genuine desire to strengthen
the link between Tunisia and
the Anglo-Saxon and
Anglophone nations around
the world.
Today, more than ever,
our joint efforts are needed to
complete the long-awaited
transition towards full
integration into the global
arena. The Bird Nest will
contribute to the success of
this process of opening up by
compiling the views and
opinions of Nesters on the
ways in which Tunisia could
enhance its presence abroad
and what we can learn from
other countries’ experiences.
We hope that this publication
will give you food for thought
and look forward to hearing
your criticism and
suggestions.
BIRD NEST team
1 Issue 1, March 20th, 2008
What’s up?
52 YEARS ON
By T.C
When President Bourguiba
paid a State visit to London
shortly after independence
he experienced the kind of
enthusiasm the British had
reserved for Carthaginian
envoys and traders as they
landed on their Isles 3000
years ago. Today, there is
still room for that special
relationship to develop and
flourish. As we celebrate
the 52nd anniversary of
our independence, we must
take this opportunity to
draw the necessary lessons
from the past, particularly
when it comes to our
relationship with a country
like Britain. In the area of
commerce, as it is with
education, research and
development, science and
technology, and cultural
exchange, Tunisians still
need to set the right
framework for a fruitful
Editorial Team (so far)
Tarek Slim
Cheniti Menzli
collaboration between the We must ensure the
two nations. next 50 years bring about a
bold and forward-looking
If commonsense had partnership in which we
generally prevailed in make the most of our
Tunisia’s domestic policies, longstanding diplomatic
our attitudes towards links, shared values, and
foreign affairs, including geographic proximity to the
trade and diplomacy, UK.
remained ill-advised and
short-sighted. A lot could
have been done, for
example, to promote the
uptake and use of English
had the necessary
conditions been fulfilled by
our successive
governments. We must now
ensure that the errors of
the past do not undermine
our prospects for the future,
and the best that can be
done is to give impulse to a
binational alliance that
extends to Britain’s historic President Bourguiba stands next to
and continuing links across PM Howard Macmillan as people
cheer at them passionately
the globe.
Join us!
tnworldwide@yahoo.co.uk
Facebook group:
Zied Network of Anglophone
Laaribi Tunisians
cauldron-tn.blogspot.com
March 21, 2008
Anouar Brahem
THE CONSTRUCTIVE JUGGERNAUT
By S.M.
So what happens when Sahar wears a
Khomsa and decides to go in a voyage on
the footsteps of the black cat seeking an
unbelievable love story? Well you can’t
help but follow her breathlessly like a
certain Alice in Wonderland in a smooth
and peaceful reverie. And while there is no
hookah-smoking caterpillar involved, the
day-dreaming effect is guaranteed. There
is no card castle but a café…an Astrakan
café. There is no infinite fence but a
Barzakh. There is no Lewis Carroll. Only
Anouar Brahem.
Armed with his luth, Brahem’s music
has been a juggernaut against
classification. Quoting from
musicolog.com from the web page related
to Anouar Brahem: “The way Brahem's
music resists classification is a measure of
the quality of his artistic career. By eluding
labels, or better by slipping through all
kinds of definitions from jazz to world
music, he has sanctioned a freedom of
expression that is uncommon in the
musical context within which he works."
Brahem also succeeded in putting an
end to a long irony. While the luth has
been a vital instrument in the classic Arab
2 Issue 1, March 20th, 2008
band (Takht), it has been long buried in
the large and loud ensemble as Liane
Hansen put it in an interview with
Brahem for NPR following a tour in the
US in 2002. In his album Madar (1994),
he even revealed some “civil engineering”
skills! Otherwise, how can one explain the
arch-shaped bridge he built between
Tunisia and India and which he labeled
“Qaws”?
Brahem is also man of cinema. Not
only has he been composing the original
scores for many films and plays, amongst
which, "Sabots en Or" and "Bezness" by
Nouri Bouzid, Ferid Boughedir’s
"Halfaouine", Moufida Tlatli’s "Les
Silences du Palais" as well as for "Iachou
Shakespeare" and "Wannas el kloub" by
Mohamed Driss, "El Amel", "Borj El
hammam" and "Bosten Jamalek" by the
Theatre Phou but also he produced
“Mots d’Après la Guerre” with which he
competed in the Locarno Film Festival in
Switzerland in August 2007 and where he
gathered live testimonies on the aftermath
of the war in Lebanon in the summer of
2006.
With his fine art, this level of
international exposure and a commitment
for dialogue across cultures, Brahem could
easily clinch a nomination as a UN
Goodwill ambassador. A man of cultural
diversity, he surely knows how to grab the
stick (Oud) from the middle: beside being
second to none juggling his taut yet gentle
Oud strings, Anouar Brahem has also
been juggling “the Olive Tree and the
Lexus” with remarkable ease. In fact and
quoting from musicolog.com again:
“Anouar Brahem is an artist who, while
profoundly imbued with his Arab heritage,
is unequivocally modern, well-anchored in
his times and headed toward the future.
He is, furthermore, an artist unperturbed
by the clash of cultures. He has always
enjoyed initiating meetings with musicians
of different horizons: Jan Garbarek,
Richard Galliano, Dave Holland, Francois
Couturier, Jean-Louis Matinier and John
Surman, of course, but also Manu
Dibango, Manu Katché, Taralagati,
Shaukat Hussain, Fareed Haque, Pierre
Favre...finding in each meeting the means
of renewing himself while retaining his
own identity.”
And that is how he gets to shrink the
world a little bit without any mushroom.
Hail to the Tunisian genius!
cauldron-tn.blogspot.com
 The green bit
BIRDNESTBIMONTHLY March 21, 2008

IT’S ALL ABOUT OIL…OLIVE OIL!

By S.M.

At the time of writing these lines, the price of a barrel of

crude oil (42 gallons or just a little under 159 liters) hit the $111
mark. This bullish trend does not seem to lose momentum any
time soon. Decoupling economical growth from rising demand
on energy resources has already been brilliantly achieved by
leading countries like Germany and Denmark. Hydropower is
nearly exhausted in Germany for instance. Finland, a country
that has over 25% of its area lying within the Arctic Circle is
even pushing to exploit…solar energy.

Being an emerging nation that is still relying heavily on

agriculture, Tunisia boasts an important potential for energy
production by biomass and thus can displace some of its
Scientifique & Technique in Borj Cédria has been
painful oil imports back to development coffers: olive pomace
conducting some research on photovoltaic cells. We believe this
(Tunisia is to the global olive market is what Kuwait is to the
choice is not adequate since the improvements in terms of
global oil market holding a 7% market share of world
efficiency (if any) do not justify the allocation of time, efforts
production), wheat/barley trash are some options just to name
and funding. More focus and funds should be given to
a few. Just about half of the country is desert with arid to very
extracting transportation fuels from abundant agricultural
arid climate translating into huge solar resources useful for waste and residues so to avoid displacing the food market, to
heating water and producing electricity using photovoltaic create jobs and to cut energy imports.
panels. The solar radiation is strong enough across southern
Tunisia that many remote villages can have their own stand-
A Tunisian delegation was present at the Washington
alone systems and meet their daily domestic energy demands
International Renewable Energy Conference this March in
without having to be connected to the utility grid.
Washington DC. The conference was probably the most
important event of the year for the Renewable Energy
Every time oil prices push a new limit, media sheds much
community. This is a good sign on the sense of urgency the
more light on solar and wind energy than any other form of
Tunisian government is starting to pay for green energies and
renewables in particular. But what should be done to fuel all
sustainable development.
those motor vehicles hitting the road every day? This remains
THE gap in the market. Society needs more than electricity.
Research should be encouraged and made in-house to address
this crisis-in-waiting. The Institut National de Recherche

Photo Quiz
Who’s this young Tunisian man?
Email us your answer!
tnworldwide@yahoo.co.uk

* Hint: his name starts with “A”

3 Issue 1, March 20th, 2008 cauldron-tn.blogspot.com

BIRDNESTBIMONTHLY March 21, 2008
In the loop
INCREDIBLE INDIA! The Taj Mahal.
By T.C http://www.flickr.com/photos/
Any developing country must face endoking/2299308085/
at some point of its history the painful
problem of the brain drain, yet some
countries do cope much better than
others, and some have even reversed it to
their advantage. India is a case in point.
With its booming economy and large
Diaspora, India can rely on the greatest
resource of all- human talent, to
advance and prosper. But what’s the
secret behind India’s success and what
can we learn from her experience?

There are two characteristics of

India which we must bear in mind when
assessing this country’s potential:

India is distinct by reason of

political organization. As a mature
democracy, she has undertaken the
necessary structural reforms without
which individuals would not be able to
trust public institutions with their civic
rights (e.g. intellectual property, freedom
of thought and speech,..). An efficient
and honest government who ensures that
the law is meticulously observed at all
times provides the right conditions for
progress to happen.
India is also distinct by reason of
civilization and culture. This is a nation
where the community matters as much as
the individual, and where people are
keen to support each other in times of
need. This tradition is celebrated and
nurtured by expatiates who have
organised themselves in thriving networks
of action. Moreover, more Indians are
now willing to go home after they have
acquired a useful experience abroad-
either as students or as professionals.
So India is likely to become one of
the next decade’s global superpowers,
and rightfully so. We in Tunisia cannot
afford to miss out on this opportunity,
and must look for potential synergies
where we can benefit from Indian know-
how and establish ourselves as a key
partner in Africa and Europe. We must
also implement the right institutional
changes at home in the light of what was
done in India. Indeed, Tunisian expats
need to see fundamental changes in the
work of Tunisian institutions that would
encourage them to put their knowledge
and expertise at the service of the
country. And finally, expatriates are
required to engage in private initiatives
which circumvent administrative
inefficiencies. In this respect, the NEST is
certainly a good starting point!

rights, and the fight against bureaucracy.

Extra time His writing style is agreeable and
Alan Goulty succinct.
You will be able to check his blog by
Alan Goulty is the UK ambassador googling his name.
to Tunisia, and there is something special
about him; he is the only foreign
representative in our country who
maintains a blog. So if for once you want
to see a human, rather than a power-
and-paper, side to international relations,
you’ll definitely find his diary interesting.
He engages with all kinds of policy
Alan Goulty questions, ranging from his outstanding
Reading the “Sabbah”, a daily
experience as a special envoy to Sudan,
Tunisian newspaper.
to the more mundane problems of
environmental campaigning, animal

4 Issue 1, March 20th, 2008 cauldron-tn.blogspot.com

BIRDNESTBIMONTHLY March 21, 2008
Aouch,
it’s boiling hot!
The Cauldron is the title of a new blog where Nesters can get
together to discuss issues of interest to the network and update
each other on their projects, opinions or suggestions for possible
cooperation schemes. We want the cauldron to be boiling with
ideas, so everyone is “warmly” invited to contribute!

Check out http://cauldron-tn.blogspot.com/

Words
of
Wisdom
“We will
either find a
way, or
make one”-
Hannibal
Barca

BIRDNESTBIMONTHLY