Daniel Evans knows Tunisia pretty well, and to him, the seaside nation has always been the “little Switzerland” of North Africa — always trying to keep the peace.
People would occasionally open up about the deep stresses of the high unemployment rate or the cost of living but never publicly. Any visible frustration mostly resided in their eyes, said Evans, who has done some Christian work in the area over the years. “A revolt just didn’t seem a part of their nature.”
But apparently it was.
Evans was in Tunis when everything went down — when the protests started in mid-January and changed the seaside vacation spot to a war zone.
“Fear settled over us in the evenings with the helicopters and gunshots and the mandatory curfew from 5 p.m. until 8 a.m.,” he said. “No one came out for the first few days, and when we did resurface, we realized there were very few shops open and no bread, fruit or vegetables to be found at the local shops.”
Local residents had put up homemade barricades of household items in the streets, and area youth were carrying hammers, bats and sticks and checking IDs before letting cars into their neighborhoods.
“When we got past the fear factor, we realized they were just trying to do their part to aid the thinly stretched military in the protection of their homes and families,” Evans said.
“It was awesome to see neighborhoods work so quickly to set up their own crime-watch system.”
And that neighborly spirit carried over, he said. Tunisians responded quickly to each other’s pressing needs. Women and girls got out in the streets and cleaned things up until the garbage services began running again. Even the local phone company offered free minutes for cell phone users to call their families.
“We were overwhelmed by the air of benevolence and good will,” Evans said.
And everyone seemed happy, he said, “beaming with pride and excitement about their future.”
His outlook on the possibilities for believers in the area is equally bright.
“It is exciting to know that there will be good that comes with the bad in the days ahead,” Evans said. “With the newfound freedom comes freedom of religion; praise God. It now seems comprehensible that thousands of seekers will be drawn to the church at first just to have the freedom to experience and see firsthand another option.”
The change and how it came about is unprecedented in the region, he said. “It has left the country unstable and unpredictable at the moment.”
Evans said his hope for the church in Tunisia is that it would be unified and would preach the gospel of Christ freely as the uncertainty continues. “The harvest is now open, and may God’s grace and peace bring a multitude of new believers to become followers of Jesus, where real liberty resides,” he said.
Evans said the Tunisian church asks for prayer
• for wisdom and unity for the emerging leadership of the country,
• for free and just elections and
• for boldness to share with their neighbors and friends about Jesus Christ, “the one true Liberator.”
Editor’s note — Name changed for security reasons.
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