TUNIS: A month after their uprising ousted strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sent shockwaves across the Arab world, Tunisians are revelling in their new freedoms but also wary of an uncertain future.
The so-called "Jasmine Revolution" saw Ben Ali flee the country on January 14 amid an unprecedented wave of mass protests and deadly unrest that left more than 200 dead.
His ouster inspired similar protest movements across the Middle East and North Africa and was the prelude to the even more dramatic toppling of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
A month on, Tunisians said they are living in a country transformed, where decades of fear have given way to a new sense of hope.
But the transformation is far from complete and -- with Tunisia's old guard still strong and interim authorities often overwhelmed -- many said they fear promised changes may be swept aside.
"The revolution was made in the hearts and minds. We discovered a free people, rid of the shackles of oppression," said long-time opposition figure Moncef Marzouki.
"The most important thing is that I am no longer afraid," said Azyz Amany, a 27-year-old opposition blogger arrested during the protests.
Once under the iron first of a 100,000-strong police force, the country of 10 million has already made strides in breaking with the past.
The interim government led by Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi has vowed to hold Tunisia's first free elections within six months, declared full freedom of speech and adopted an amnesty law for those persecuted by the former regime.
The country has joined the international conventions against torture and the death penalty, purged the top ranks of the security forces and suspended the former ruling party, the Constitutional Democratic Assembly (RCD).
"The upside is that there has not been any backsliding in freedoms and we have a government that has clearly said it wants to prepare democratic elections," said a Western diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The downside is that we don't yet have total stability. And there's also the question of who is really taking the decisions," the diplomat said.
Many here are raising questions over whether the new regime truly represents a split from the past, especially with figures like Ghannouchi, the head of the government since 1999, calling the shots.
"There is no clear political will to break from the past. The government's decisions have come with delays that have damaged its legitimacy and provoked a crisis of confidence," said Mustapha Ben Jaafar, leader of the opposition Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties (FDTL).
With many leaders from the former ruling caste in top positions, some fear the revolution will be confiscated, its potential wasted behind a smokescreen of reforms.
"The old bosses are still behind the scenes," Marzouki said.
Frustrations have already boiled over in cities like Kasserine, where protesters late last month ransacked and looted public buildings, and Kef, where at least four people were killed earlier this month in clashes between protesters and security forces.
The contrast between Tunisia's hopes and fears can be keenly felt in Entilaka, a desperately poor neighbourhood on the outskirts of Tunis where police and protesters frequently clashed during the unrest.
Amid burnt-out buildings that once housed state offices, many residents said they felt like they had begun new lives.
"The fear is gone, I feel like a free man," said Mohamed Neji, 43, as he drove a tractor down the road.
Ben Ali "did nothing but steal the country," he said, and the new authorities are a "great improvement."
"For 30 years we did not have the right to express ourselves," Neji said.
But a group of young women standing at the entrance to Entilaka were far less enthusiastic, describing continued chaos since Ben Ali's ouster.
"We live in terror, the children are not going to school," said one young mother. "We don't sleep at night, there are a lot of robberies and looting."
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