The world changed alot in the past year. We've seen the uprising of the the people that were once content with their lives and just skating by with what little they got from their governments. That all changed, when the now famous Mohammad Bouazizi set himself alight and drew the attention of the world upon Tunisia.
That the protests were sufficiently consistent to force Ben Ali was testament to the power that people previously never knew they had, or knew, but never forced the issue consistently for any significant result to manifest itself. Opression has always been present in somewhat poorer countries, but never have revolutions taken such a large share of media attention as it has this particular year, so much that it has prompted to TIME Magazine to name The Protestor as its annual Person of The Year contest.
It wasn't only in Tunisia that revolters made headlines. All over the world, people were drawing inspiration from each other, and social media was at the epicentre of it all. Facebook, Twitter and Skype, once meagre communication tools used by bored teenagers to connect with their equally bored friends, was used to spread the fire that was lighted by the Tunisian people.
From Tunisia, the desire for better government went on to Egypt, Libya, Spain, Italy, America, Russia, and most recently, Syria. Mubarak and Gadaffi were ousted through peaceful protests, which were made violent by the government's brutal efforts to crackdown on these protests. Bersih 2.0 might have been bad, but compared to the tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray that the enforcement officers used, it seemed much less violent, although still uncalled for.
While the methods were the same, the cause was different, none more so evident than in America, where Occupy Wall Street inspired countless other movements, like in Oakland. The growing disparity between the insanely rich and desperately poor was enough to drive the people of America to start the movement, camping out on the now infamous Zuccotti Park. It wasn't only one class of people that supported thier cause, people from all walks of life were joining in, including retired police officers who were arrested by those previously his colleagues. What irony.
Closer to home, Bersih 2.0 showed that Malaysians too, were capable of forcing change. While it may not have been as widespread or influential as the protests in the Middle East, it certainly made headlines for several weeks. While newspapers covered the major events, Twitter and Facebook were awash with news, some true and some quite unlikely.
Protests aside, on a personal level, 2011 was a major crossroads moment for me, especially in my education. Completing A Levels was only part of it. That I have finally decided on Law at Monash University is a major decision, and one no doubt I will regret(at some point) in the future. I never gave much thought to choosing a career previously, I always thought it would all fall into place eventually, as has been the case since the beginnning of my education. Having to make a life defining choice at the age of 19 may be one of many flaws in our education system, but it is one that I am glad to have made.
The world's changed in so many ways, and I for one, am excited to see what 2012 holds. Speaking of evil dictators, how about one more protest to overthrow Sepp Blatter? How about it, world?
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