The Language of the Political Crowd in Tunisia | African Futures
"The revolutionary crowds asserted the unity of the population, both rural and urban, against State oppression. The crowds were written over with words expressing the shared sentiment of the people. The events of 14 January and of Kasbah I and II , mass gatherings during the weeks after the flight of Ben Ali, in Tunis defied the politics of a rural/urban split when the populations from the central and southern regions came and occupied the center of political power, using a common language and holding the same signs."
"These days partisan, sometimes fanatic, and quite desperate crowds form in a very different and more isolated social landscape than the revolutionary hopefulness of last January. Many people here wonder about that crowd solidarity and unity of purpose that brought the people together during those days, and where it might have gone."
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