In early 2011, the Arab Spring quickly ignited in Tunisia, and within weeks its fires had spread to almost every nation in the Arab World. As massive demonstrations and conflicts ignited in city after city, Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto realized that he was witnessing what was perhaps the most important event of his lifetime. One question dominated his thoughts: Exactly why would the suicide-by-fire of Mohamed Bouazizi, and insignificant fruit peddler in a dusty backwater Tunisian town, resonate so strongly that the reaction would topple four governments?
He immediately sent a research team to Tunisia and other North African countries to find out. Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD) researchers worked in the streets and souks of North Africa for months. To their great surprise, they learned that there had been dozens of similar suicides by small entrepreneurs and businessmen across the region.
ILD teams interviewed as many families and survivors as they could, and the stories they heard were all eerily similar. Few of the suicides were ever motivated by politics. All were hard workers who were not permitted to work legally. All had been abused, humiliated, ejected, and robbed of their means to make a living. All simply wanted to be left in peace, to be free of petty harassment and corruption.
As the data poured in ILD research teams in North Africa, we at FTCN realized that we had the story of a lifetime. We had access to Bouazizi's family and friends and were receiving report after report of landmark ILD statistics.
Together, they demonstrated unequivocally that the Arab Spring was far more about economic inclusion than religion or politics. The data also mirrored what the ILD had documented in over 30 other developing world communities worldwide: property rights and inclusive efficient business law are far more important factors in development than suspected.
Our production crew joined de Soto and his researchers, going to ground zero of the Arab Spring: Bouazizi's family, friends, and community. Together with them, they documented Bouazizi's last day. They also filmed other small businessmen who are hopelessly trapped outside the system.
Bouazizi's death resonated so strongly because his experience of corruption, exclusions, daily humiliation, bribery, and bureaucratic labyrinths, specifically designed to be impenetrable to those without connections, are identical to those which over 100 million people across the Arab world would experience on a daily basis. Our documentary introduces a new perspective and critical new ideas essential to the international discussion surrounding these events.
We were exploring new ground here, and, of course, we wondered how much of our finding reflected Islam or Arabic culture. These two elements are part of the picture, to be sure, but de Soto emphasizes that this is a revolution in Arabic society, not an Arabic revolution. He sees this process as one every society must go through.
The end results is the first Free To Choose Network project to be distributed, in Arabic, across the Arab world. The program is being broadcast repeatedly via Alhurra, the network set up by the United States shortly after the Iraq War. It is being used by the ILD in meeting with community groups, and is also being screened in universities across the Middle East and North Africa.
The Arab world is realizing the incredible importance of "invisible things" - property rights, efficient business law, and truly free markets open to all. We often take these for granted, like stoplights, paved streets, or electricity. But with each project I have done with de Soto, I have witnessed how the "invisible things" make all the difference in the world between poverty and prosperity.
To stream The Unlikely Heroes of the Arab Spring, click here.
Roger Brown has been the writer and producer of three FTCN documentaries with Hernando de Soto.
Ambrish Mehta, a founding member of ARCH-Vahini, helped the Sagai Village map out the land they farm so that they might ultimately be given a deed to their land.
The successful Chairman and Managing Director of MMR Group, Mannem Madhusudana Rao, is seen with his children outside his home.
Banwari Lal Sharma, the president of a street vendors association in India, leads a meeting in “India Awakes.”
Our production crew joined de Soto and his researchers, going to ground zero of the Arab Spring: Bouazizi's family, friends, and community. Together with them, they documented Bouazizi's last day. They also filmed other small businessmen who are hopelessly trapped outside the system. 
We were exploring new ground here, and, of course, we wondered how much of our finding reflected Islam or Arabic culture. These two elements are part of the picture, to be sure, but de Soto emphasizes that this is a revolution in Arabic society, not an Arabic revolution. He sees this process as one every society must go through.
The Arab world is realizing the incredible importance of "invisible things" - property rights, efficient business law, and truly free markets open to all. We often take these for granted, like stoplights, paved streets, or electricity. But with each project I have done with de Soto, I have witnessed how the "invisible things" make all the difference in the world between poverty and prosperity.
Roger Brown has been the writer and producer of three FTCN documentaries with Hernando de Soto.
One of the three stories featured in India Awakes involves property rights. After India gained independence in 1947, the Forest Department took control of millions of acres of forestlands across the country. The local tribal people were seen as a hindrance and they were told they had no right to farm, hunt or forage. The government left them landless and impoverished, resulting in near-starvation living conditions for decades. 
A recent property rights law has allowed tribal people to obtain deeds to their land, and in this new program we show how GPS technology and Google Maps were instrumental in their property rights victory. Such a high-tech solution may not seem extraordinary at first, until one realizes that Sagai village (where we filmed) has no electricity or plumbing. One of our crew members had to drive 90 minutes each night to the nearest electrical outlet to charge our camera batteries. In a world without electricity, using a GPS unit to solve a problem was bold and unexpected. No electricity also means no television. The villagers invited us to film their story not fully understanding what a television documentary was.
One goal in our filming was to recreate how the villagers mapped their land with the GPS units. So we recruited three or four villagers to demonstrate what they did for our camera. However, our volunteers did not quite know what to expect since they knew little or nothing about television. The GPS mapping process involved holding down a button on specially programmed GPS unit, then walking the perimeter of the land plot.
To find out more about this new program, being released in the fall of 2015, visit our program website.
