“Ma’am, I’m sorry, you have to use the terminal.”
“First, the stairs, now this! Forget it, I’m going to my main branch.”
So maybe the system in BPI SM North isn’t for everybody. I was so impressed by it that I decided to bank there again this week. This was an actual exchange between an elderly lady and the BPI employee directing people to the terminals. Although the system is great and efficient and green, maybe there should be some room to accommodate the elderly who are intimidated, nay, scared, of computers.
This generation gap is real. Understanding it could mean being more polite to BPI’s elderly clients. In Tunisia, it meant the end of the 23-year dictatorship of President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.
The famed Jasmine Revolution that opened the year 2011 for Tunisians was made possible by the internet --- the mastery of the young revolutionaries of it, and the inadequacy of the old regime at it. Before the revolution, Ben Ali made a pact with the people of Tunisia: he promised economic development but in return he wanted people to keep mum about their political views. A small price to pay considering that in the first 20 years of his rule, he delivered on his promise. He improved education. The country had many college graduates. This became a problem in 2008 when economies around the world stumbled. Tunisia was not spared by the recession. There was a surplus of talent and a shortage of jobs.
And so, although the government had propagandas and firewalls, the young revolutionaries were able to breach the firewalls and access banned websites like YouTube and Wikileaks. The corruption and lavish lifestyles of Ben Ali and his relatives was posted and reposted on Facebook pages. Text messages went around that gathered people on the streets. After four weeks, Ben Ali fled the country.
The Jasmine Revolution, not unlike our own EDSA revolution, was a display of people power. The Jasmine Revolution is historically important, as it is the first display of people power going against established authoritarian rule in the Arab world. As US Sec State Hilary Clinton put it, the foundations of the Arab world were “sinking into the sand.”
And true enough, the people in Egypt, who got their cue from the Tunisians, took to the streets and demanded the end of Mubarak’s rule. Likewise, the internet --- Facebook and Twitter, in particular --- played a big role.
The generation gap made the old lady in BPI feel intimidated and disrespected; but it has proved to be instrumental in a peoples’ cry for democracy.
Christopher John P. Lao
Entry #12
Sources:
1) Vivienne Walt’s article “Tunisia’s Nervous Neighbors Watch the Jasmine Revolution” in the TIME Asia January 31, 2011 edition.
2) Abigail Hauslohner’s article “On the Arab Street, Rage is Contageous” in the TIME Asia February 7, 2011 edition.
Images:
1) http://www.waleg.com/photos/albums/misc/2011/tn-uprise/tn-uprise-004.jpg
2) http://www.waleg.com/photos/albums/misc/2011/eg-uprise/eg-uprise-008.jpg
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