“I was about to be crazy as I has been hiding in vault for 21 years,†says Tunisian opposition member
Tunisian opposition member Sami Ben Alia said he was about to be crazy because of torture during the Bourguiba regime. “I preferred to subsoil than torture,†he told Echorouk in an interview.
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Would you mind giving some words about you?
I am Samir Ban Alia. I was sentenced to six months in prison in the Bourguiba regime. I was tortured. When I was released, I was fired and I had lived in secret conditions since 1989.
Why did you disappear?
Some of my brothers were arrested because of inciting circulars. I was then a prominent activist.
Do you mean that you were working for the banned-Al-Nahda?
Exactly. As I was afraid of torture, I preferred to hide in subsoil.
It means that you preferred to hide in a cave for more than 20 years rather to be tortured.
Yes, because I know that prison conditions in the Ben Ali regime were worse than those in the Bourguiba regime.
Were you wanted?
Security forces came to my home at night to search for me. They kidnapped my 10-year-old niece.
Can you tell us the exact date when you disappeared?
I disappeared on December 22nd, 1989. I stayed in my cave until January 22nd, 2011.
Where is your cave located?
It located in the Al-Asil area in the city of El Kef. I was living in a vault of a cousin. I have not left it for 21 years. It was a neglected vault.
How was your daily life in this vault?
I was a terror life. I have been living in terror for 22 years. Even my family was living in terror. I avoided contacting them. I lived in very painful conditions. It was a tragedy and a deep scare.
Can you describe this vault?
It is in an underground room.
Who provided you with food and water?
The house’s owner. I thank him for caring for me.
Did you follow events on newspapers?
I had not followed anything for the first ten years. I was preoccupied by protecting my self first of all. Power searched for me everywhere. I worked for a doctor before I had disappeared. His sister was an official in power. She was summoned by the head of state and told her your brother employed opposition members.
Were you hit by a mental disease?
One day, I underwent a serious mental crisis. I started shouting as I had a terrible headache. It was in the fasting month of Ramadan. The house’s owner did not know what to do. He asked me what to do. We had to go to hospital.
How did the problem finish?
Thanks to Allah, the nurse did not inform security forces about me. I had suffered from pains for 24 hours. A specialist doctor gave me a treatment and the pains had never come back once again.
Can you tell us the number of people who knew about you and your vault?
They were few. Because of that, power could not find me. Security forces searched for me everywhere and they thought I travelled abroad. My fiancée knew about my place.
Did you meet your fiancée when you were hiding?
I met her until we broke up. Security forces had kept watch on her for eight years. She used to go to a police station twice a day for administrative control. She was ill treated there.
That means she has resisted for eight years and then collapsed.
She did not collapse but we decided to break up to end her suffering.
Did your family know about your place?
Not all of them. My brother has not seen me for 22 years. I avoided contacting them so that they would not be harmed.
How did your family react when you left the vault and went home?
I left the vault without informing anyone. Even the house’s owners did not know that. I went to Tunis to show myself after 22 years of absence. By chance, I met Al Jazeera Channel. I thank it for helping the Tunisians and I thank your newspaper for following our news. I hope there will be appropriate political conditions to take your newspaper to my vault. I heard about your newspaper when I was there.