The Soldier and the Writer

Kamel still holds onto an army paper that names him among the list of honorable soldiers.

Kamel still holds onto an army paper that names him among the list of honorable soldiers. The list was published in a newspaper in 1976, two years before Kamel was dismissed. He still feels proud of it and keep it as an evidence for his righteous behavior as a soldier. 

Kamel smokes heavily while talking about the consequences of his isolation.

Kamel smokes heavily while talking about the consequences of his isolation.  

Kamel and Najet discuss their current challenges in their home in Testour, 2017.

Kamel and Najet discuss their current challenges in their home in Testour, 2017. The couple met at the end of the 1990s, during an Earth Day celebration that took place on Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis. After getting engaged in 2002, they married on October 30th, 2014. 

After her injuries, Najet first relied on crutches to walk. Nowadays she uses a sort of walker that follows her everywhere. 

After her injuries, Najet first relied on crutches to walk. Nowadays she uses a sort of walker that follows her everywhere. 

Najet’s medicine drawer is brimming with remedies meant to help relieve the pain caused by injuries sustained at the hands of police.

Najet’s medicine drawer is brimming with remedies meant to help relieve the pain caused by injuries sustained at the hands of police. In 2017, she still suffers physically from the violence perpetrated on her by the former political police and needs help for any basic gesture. 

Najet traces the line of a scar, the result of surgery she underwent after torture at the hands of the police.

Najet traces the line of a scar, the result of surgery she underwent after torture at the hands of the police. 

The first words Najet wrote after being beaten by the police: “Najet Baccouche”.

The first words Najet wrote after being beaten by the police: “Najet Baccouche”. Najet published another book in 2013. That same year, she stopped working for newspapers, after 33 years of political compositions. In 2014, she took early retirement. Though she continues to write, she  cannot find more funding to publish her work.  

Kamel and Najet hold hands while telling their stories.

Kamel and Najet hold hands while telling their stories. Today, both are in poor health and rely on each other to live and fight for their ideas. They find strength in their love for each other as life puts obstacles on their way.

Ongoing economic and social inequality, a legacy of the dictatorship, affects Tunisians across generations, but has particularly pronounced impacts on young people. ICTJ worked with four young photographers to confront the consequences of marginalization and explore its impacts on Tunisian youth. Their four photo galleries comprise the exhibition “Left Behind”: Young Photographers Capture Marginalization in Tunisia.” In this gallery, Ashraf Gharbi explores the challenges facing a couple who stood up to the state.

 

About the Gallery

Born in 1959, Kamel Taghouti joined the army at the age of 16, eventually rising to the rank of battalion commander. During the first general strike since Tunisia’s independence on January 26th 1978, also known as “the Black Thursday”, his unit was deployed and ordered to open fire on civilians. Kamel refused this order and was dismissed for insubordination. Since then, he has struggled to find both a livelihood and a place to live, as the authorities harassed and pressured him, ensuring that  he would  continuously lose his job and be evicted from his home. He is currently unemployed. 

Born in 1969, Kamel’s wife, Najet Baccouche, has also suffered because of her willingness to speak out. Najet has written books and articles about the injustice and tyranny of the former regime, which exposed her to numerous violations by the political police. She published her first book in 1996, الهاوية الى الصعود ( “The Rise of the Vacuum”); her second book was confiscated in her home by the political police and she was subjected to beatings.  Due to this violence, she still faces many difficulties today. 

About the Photographer

Ashraf Gharbi, 24, is an activist and business student based in Tunis. He’s had a camera in his hands for as long as he can remember. “My story with the camera started when my father was exiled because of his own photography,” Ashraf says. “I inherited his camera and his love for images, and ever since then I have wanted to cover events from all over the world for Tunisians.” Since those early explorations with photography, Ashraf has done just that, visiting many African and European countries, taking both photos and video back home with him. “The best feeling is when I see the reaction of the public, when people interact with my work.”

 

Explore the other three galleries that comprise "Marginalization in Tunisia: Images of an Invisible Repression"

Nedra Jouini on the psychological effects of marginalization

Ali Jabeur on the economic and ecological decline of the Gulf of Gabbes

Emna Fetni on the social and spacial outskirts of Tunis

Middle East and North Africa
Tunisia
Institutional Reform
Youth Engagement