The cleanup operation is a fundamental part of the Friday protest ritual AP
Algeria’s protesters roam the streets picking up bottles, papers and other detritus left behind, after massive pro-democracy demonstrations conclude every week,
It’s a powerful symbol of the movement’s peaceful, hopeful spirit.
After the protests started Feb. 22 against Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and his entourage, organizers started sending messages on Facebook calling for demonstrators to stay peaceful and clean up after themselves.
Now the cleanup operation is a fundamental part of the Friday protest ritual. Individual volunteers pitch in around Algiers, along with more organized crews wearing orange vests.
Cleanup worker Abdellah Debaili says “we’re happy, because people congratulate us for doing this work.”
The protests forced Bouteflika from office after 20 years in power but demonstrators now want the rest of the political elite to leave too.
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