2010 — Bouazizi Ignites the Arab Spring

On December 17, 2010, Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire outside the governor's office in Sidi Bouzid, after officials confiscated his fruit cart — the stall from which he made his living. His act was one man's protest against humiliation at the hands of authority, made in a public place where it could not be quietly ignored.

Footage of the aftermath spread online, and protest swept Tunisia within days. The uprising toppled President Ben Ali and ignited the Arab Spring across North Africa and the Middle East. A single street vendor's despair became the spark for a regional upheaval — proof of how quickly one act, seen by millions, can move whole nations.