As the summer of 2011 drew to a close, the fire engine stationed in the Tunisian hilltop town of Thala was due to be taken back to the main city of the region — Kasserine — some 35 miles away. It happened every year: The government would allocate firefighting resources to Thala during the year’s hot months to deal with the wildfires that frequently broke out in the surrounding forests. But that year, the residents of Thala weren’t going to accept the status quo. About 80 people gathered in front of the fire engine to protest, blocking the fire engine from driving out of town. “We decided...…As the summer of 2011 drew to a close, the fire engine stationed in the Tunisian hilltop town of Thala was due to be taken back to the main city of the region — Kasserine — some 35 miles away. It happened every year: The government would allocate firefighting resources to Thala during the year’s hot months to deal with the wildfires that frequently broke out in the surrounding forests. But that year, the residents of Thala weren’t going to accept the status quo. About 80 people gathered in front of the fire engine to protest, blocking the fire engine from driving out of town. “We decided...WW…