Saïd Bouziri (June 4, 1947, in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

– June 23, 2009, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

by profession, was a

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

activist who was involved in several struggles related to

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

Biography

The eldest of a family of

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

s, Saïd Bouziri moved to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1966 as part of his studies. He studied in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

then in Paris. He joined a

Maoist Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...

group for a while but quickly became convinced that immigrants should retain their political sovereignty and therefore found their own structures. This is what pushed him, in the context of the

Six Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June 1967. Military hostilities broke ...

of 1967 and

May 68 May 68 () was a period of widespread protests, strikes, and civil unrest in France that began in May 1968 and became one of the most significant social uprisings in modern European history. Initially sparked by student demonstrations agains ...

to participate in the founding of the Palestine Committee which will become the in 1973. He also founded the Committee for the Defense of life and rights of immigrant workers. In 1972, as part of the Marcellin-Fontanet circular, an expulsion order targeted him, as well as his wife, because of his activities. He then started a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

to assert his rights which had a great impact. He was supported by various personalities including

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

Claude Mauriac Jean Marc Claude Mauriac (25 April 1914 – 22 March 1996) was a French essayist, novelist and journalist. Mauriac was born in Paris, the eldest son of author François Mauriac. He was the personal secretary of Charles de Gaulle from 1944 to 1949 ...

and

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault ( , ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French History of ideas, historian of ideas and Philosophy, philosopher who was also an author, Literary criticism, literary critic, Activism, political activist, and teacher. Fo ...

. A demonstration of support brought together more than 2,000 people and ended up winning the case. Anchored in the Goutte-d'Or district, he founded a socio-cultural center on and the activist radio station in 1981. He participated in several movements for the defense of undocumented migrants. Following the movement he participated in the organization of the

March for Equality and Against Racism The March for Equality and Against Racism (French: ''Marche pour l’égalité et contre le racisme''), also called the March of the Arabs (French: ''Marche des beurs'') by French media ('' beur'' is the backslang of ''arabe''), was a demonstratio ...

in 1983. Together with Driss el-Yazami, he created the association with for the purpose of preserving the history of immigration. He was also the national treasurer of

Human Rights League (France) The Human Rights League ( '' t du citoyen' or LDH) is a human rights NGO association whose mission includes to observe, defend and promulgate human rights within the French Republic in all spheres of public life. The LDH is a member of the In ...

-LDH, for founding a structure in order to allow foreigners to vote in local elections. A street square in Pariswas named after him in honor of his human rights accomplishments.

References

External links

Saïd Bouziri Collection (1967-2006)
at Archives de La contemporaine {{Authority control Tunisian human rights activists Human Rights League (France) members Tunisian anti-racism activists Tunisian trade unionists Immigrant rights activists People from Tunis Governorate Hunger strikers 20th-century Tunisian businesspeople French human rights activists North African people 1947 births 2009 deaths