New North Africa (1964)

[music] [music] [music] >> North Africa is an ancient land. It's the vast wastes of the sun and the legendary tents of wandering tribes. >> [music] >> It's the land of the Arabs and of their camels, the ships of the desert. >> [music] >> It's the old cities with the strange sounding names, like Casablanca, Bizerte, [music] and Rabat. While North Africa is an ancient land, it is also a modern land, a land of transition, of change and growth. >> [music] [bell] >> Symbolic of old North Africa is an event that often takes place in the country of [music] Morocco. Accompanied by thousands of attendants in a ceremony reminiscent [music] of another age, the king of Morocco makes an appearance in public. >> [music] >> His Majesty Sidi Mohammed Ben Youssef was the first leader of independent [music] Morocco. >> [music] [bell] >> The Moroccan king is both head of the government and leader of the Muslim faith in his country. He is looked upon as a living saint. >> [music] >> In contrast to this glimpse of the old and representative of the new North Africa is a parade held in the nearby Republic of Tunisia in honor of its first leader, President Habib Bourguiba. President Bourguiba was elected by the people to head only the civil government. Tunisia completely separated the affairs of CHURCH AND STATE. >> [screaming] >> THIS NEW NATION, ITS GOVERNMENT, ITS PEOPLE, and its problems symbolize the new North Africa, >> [screaming] >> a land of change AND GROWTH. >> [cheering] >> THE BIG THREE COUNTRIES OF NORTH AFRICA, MOROCCO, ALGERIA, and Tunisia, were recently under French control with a small section under the Spanish. Today these countries are each independent, self-governing nations. Morocco obtained her independence in 1956, Algeria in 1962, and Tunisia in 1957. Perhaps the most progressive of these new nations is the smallest of the three, the Republic of Tunisia, about equal in size to our state of Washington. Today members of the Tunisian Congress are elected by popular vote. Arabic is the spoken and written language of this country. Here legislators discuss the problems of their country. For example, half of Tunisia's more than 4 million citizens are under the age of 20. Educating these young people and providing employment for them in the years ahead are major problems. The background for understanding Tunisians and their problems dates back to ancient times when all of North Africa was overrun by a long list of invaders. The most lasting impressions were left by the Roman invasions and the Arab invasions. In Tunisia today are many ancient ruins left from the time when this land was part of the Roman Empire. The Romans built [music] huge imposing temples and theaters. In fact, complete cities were constructed [music] by these enterprising people over 2,000 years ago. >> [music] >> At one place are the remains of an amphitheater nearly as large as the Colosseum in Rome. The Romans who attended events in this arena left more to modern Tunisia than impressive [music] ruins. They developed huge areas for growing wheat and olive trees and so laid the foundation for modern Tunisia's agricultural [music] economy. When the Arabs first came to North Africa, they brought with them the religion of Islam. 95% of all Tunisians are Muslims, followers of this religion. Beautiful mosques, which are temples of worship and study, are found throughout Tunisia. Here people come to pray to their God, Allah. According to Muslim or religious law, the images of people are never created in art form, for it is forbidden in the Quran, the Muslim Bible. Tunisians do not follow Muslim law as closely as they once did, but some women still wear veils according to the law. And occasionally a child is seen whose hair is cut in such a way that if he dies, Allah can reach down and conveniently lift him into heaven. Five times each day the muezzin, a Muslim holy leader, calls the faithful to prayer just as it's been done for 14 centuries. The Arabs also brought with them their style of dress, which can still be seen in Tunisia. The long robe is used as protection against the desert sun and hot sandy winds. But more and more people are adopting the Western style of clothing, particularly in the cities. Tunisia's larger cities are located close to the Mediterranean Sea, where the climate is moderate the year round. The largest city is Tunis, the capital. Much of Tunis has been rebuilt since World War II when large sections were destroyed during the fighting. The busy activity that prevails in the commercial section of town reminds one of a large European city. Some of the newer residential parts of Tunis have wide, well-paved streets. But the older sections of town still have the narrow walkways so typical of North African cities which were built many centuries ago. Located in the old sections are hundreds of small shops where Tunisian artisans create a wide variety of beautifully [music] designed objects. Some of the techniques used by these artisans [music] have been passed down from father to son for unknown generations. >> [music] >> Elsewhere in the larger cities are located schools of higher learning. Here a graduation ceremony is taking place at the University of Tunis. Graduates are awarded books for further study as well as their diplomas. Notice the number of women in this graduating class, for this is another symbol of the new North Africa. Before Tunisia gained its independence, women had very few rights. Education for women was almost unheard of. >> [applause] >> The government places such great emphasis on education that the Tunisian president himself will frequently make the graduation awards. >> [applause] >> Most of the agricultural activity in Tunisia centers in the Sahel or coastal plain area. Most Tunisians earn their living from agriculture. Sheep and goats are the principal livestock animals raised in the Sahel. Huge olive orchards are seen in the Sahel. One orchard contains 8 million trees. Olives are used in the production of olive oil, an industry begun by the Romans in ancient times. An interesting related industry is the manufacturing of pottery jars. Most of the olive oil crop is shipped in these huge containers. They're the same kind of jars used in Roman times. The Romans first introduced irrigation farming. Crops are still grown on irrigated lands. Modern overhead irrigation flumes, patterned after the early Roman aqueducts, are used on some farms. Grain crops are harvested partly by machine, but mostly by hand. Tunisia has many more people than jobs, and this is one of her major problems. Although the quality of the export crops is good, most of the crops are already in oversupply on the world market. Farmers are experimenting with artichokes have been raised successfully and have found an excellent market in Europe. A southern Tunisia consists Few people are able to live the year round in this arid land. >> [music] >> Occasional groups of Bedouins, the nomads of the desert, are seen as they lead their animals to some far-off [music] desert marketplace. >> [music] >> Bedouins are the people of the Sahara. They have no permanent home, but live with their families in tents [music] as they roam from place to place. >> [music] >> Occasionally, an oasis will be found in the desert. Surprisingly enough, one of the principal crops is grown in desert oases. Thousands of date trees yield one of the important export products. So that date crops may be sold when the market is favorable, the government is helping to construct facilities for processing and refrigerated storage. Mining is another major industry. It was originally developed by the French. Lead is obtained from this mine. Iron, zinc, and phosphate mines are located elsewhere in Tunisia. Another problem facing this new nation is that the ores obtained from our mines are not high in quality. Yet, without mining, Tunisia's economy would suffer, for 1/3 of the total value of all her exports are obtained from mining. The problems of a land as old as Tunisia suddenly becoming a new self-governing nation are many. Habib Bourguiba, the first president of Tunisia, did more than any one man to obtain independence for his people and lead them successfully through the first trying years. >> [screaming] >> The name of Bourguiba will live forever in the hearts of his countrymen. >> [cheering] [screaming] >> On this occasion, an Independence Day celebration, the president spoke of the many countries that aided Tunisia in its struggle for independence. But he spoke mostly about the people, about the role they played in making Tunisia an independent nation. Tunisia symbolizes the new North Africa, an ancient land, and yet a very modern land, a land of transition, >> [screaming] >> of change and growth. >> [cheering] [screaming] [music] [music] [bell]