What many are saying was a social media revolution in Tunisia now has bloggers calling for greater participation in the country’s future, after they helped topple the more than two decades rule.
Already, the government has taken initiative. The previously feared Interior Ministry has begun disseminating information and opening dialogues with average citizens via the social media network Facebook.
“It is an interesting time to be in the region and see how online activism that was once vehemently anti-government is now participating in the formation of future governments,” said Moroccan blogger and activist Yussif Abdelaziz. He said that “the role of blogging has not been underestimated by the new leaders and they have taken it upon themselves to use the networks to understand the people. It’s a breath of fresh air.”
Tunisian bloggers, the majority of whom are young 20-somethings, have said they have a role to play in the reconstruction of their country.
“We are not stopping our fight, and we are the first line of defense of freedom,” said blogger Wissem Zghaier, 29, in comments published by the Associated Press.
For now, with bloggers already making an impact on the national level – one is part of the interim government – the question on their minds and fellow activists who played a direct role in the uprising, is how the government will react to their demands for greater roles in the future.
By Jonathan Terry
