After leaving the offices of a banned magazine and human rights group in Tunisia staff writer Jill Carroll and her interpreter noticed that they had attracted a tail.
"He was wearing a black shirt. My interpreter saw him trailing a block or so along behind us through the city but I couldn't spot him," says Jill. "Finally, we stopped and turned around so my interpreter could point out the man to me. He was hiding behind a tree across the street. After a moment he poked his head out. When he saw us looking at him and pointing, he quickly jumped back behind the tree. A stalker? An avid Monitor reader? More likely, a secret policeman from Tunisia's extensive intelligence network assigned to watch us as we met with people who did not meet with government approval."
After that, Jill noticed a different man tailing them each day. "It became a game. Every morning, after we left the hotel, we wondered who would spot the secret policeman first. After a while, we got pretty good at it. We joked about going for a nice, long jog through Tunis to give them a workout," says Jill. "But I forgot to bring my running shoes."
"He was wearing a black shirt. My interpreter saw him trailing a block or so along behind us through the city but I couldn't spot him," says Jill. "Finally, we stopped and turned around so my interpreter could point out the man to me. He was hiding behind a tree across the street. After a moment he poked his head out. When he saw us looking at him and pointing, he quickly jumped back behind the tree. A stalker? An avid Monitor reader? More likely, a secret policeman from Tunisia's extensive intelligence network assigned to watch us as we met with people who did not meet with government approval."
After that, Jill noticed a different man tailing them each day. "It became a game. Every morning, after we left the hotel, we wondered who would spot the secret policeman first. After a while, we got pretty good at it. We joked about going for a nice, long jog through Tunis to give them a workout," says Jill. "But I forgot to bring my running shoes."
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