Ragnar's World: A tale of Thala

In December 2010, an uprising started in Tunisia. It spread and lasted for weeks. On January 8th 2011, president Ben Ali authorized the use of deadly force. And in five days, 21 people were killed by snipers in Kasserine and Thala. It is unknown why the authorization was given. Whether it was to force people back to their homes, or to provoke a violent response from the protesters, and thus justify heavier crackdowns. But either way, it had the opposite effect. People all over Tunisia took to the street in peaceful protests.

The army leaders realized that there would be no stopping the protesters and refused to follow Ben Ali's orders. In the end, the president realized that without the army's support, he could no longer stay in power. And on the 14th of January, he fled to Saudi Arabia.

I wanted to visit Thala, and today, I was supposed to. But that would only be for a brief moment. Not the whole day as planned. I took a louage to Kasserine. I disembarked from the louage and headed for the toilet before looking for the ride to Thala. I heard someone calling on me "Mister! Monsiour!" Assuming it was a seller, I just kept on walking. But he insisted, so I turned around. And he flashed a police ID. "Police! Passport!" I handed him my passport, and he studied it. He tried to ask me some questions in French, but I tried to explain I understood only English. He pulled me aside and continued to ask me questions. And I understood some of the words, so I managed to answer all his questions. As far as I know. He gave me my passport back. And said something that I understood as "dangerous".

I had already read that the border areas with Algeria and Libya were dangerous, so I nodded and responded "OK". I was prepared for that. So he showed me the ticketing window, and I bought the ticket. Then he held me back as he talked to the guy behind the counter. He got a telephone number from him, and called someone. From his actions, I summarized that he was telling the local police about my arrival.

In the end, he took me to the right louage, and I hopped onboard. And he left the station. It made me wonder how he knew I would be there? Did anyone in Sbeitla tip him off? I decided to ignore it for now. Tried to enjoy the scenery as we ascended into the mountains. But a thought kept nagging me. What if they insist I be escorted by police? A foreigner being killed by insurgents isn't something any nation wants on their resume. I was hoping the police officer only alerted them that a foreigner was on his way. And nothing else.

Then we arrived in Thala. I got out, and one after the other guy greeted me. "Escuse me sir! Police!" I looked at them. Three guys. Two plain clothes and one in uniform. They wanted to see my passport. I gave it to one of the guys. He checked it thoroughly. Then called someone. "Need to check papers! No worries!" he said. A few minutes later, a car pulled into the station and three guys jumped out. "That is police chief!" he told me. They started discussing while the chief was on the phone. So now I was surrounded by 6 guys. Checking papers or interviewing me. They wanted to know where I was staying in Thala. I showed them my hotel key from Sbeitla and said that I was going back. After a while, they were satisfied. The police chief and his guys left. And the guy who was holding my passport started speaking to me in french. I didn't understand much, but from the wording, and how he acted, I understood. He was pleading me NOT to stay, and just go right back to Sbeitla. He took me to a louage that was going to Kasserine. "Dangerous! Thala dangerous!" He showed me a "rifle" sign. "Please! Thala dangerous!"

I was saddened. I really wanted to come here and look around. But when the police urges you to leave, I guess I should take the hint. So in the end, I got on the louage and waited till it left. I took some pictures from the louage station and on the way back down to Kasserine. It was a beautiful scenery.