Paper short abstract:

The play is set in the microcosm of a Tunis taxi jama3i. As passengers get on and off, whizzing between marginalised and wealthy neighbourhoods, word of disappearances spreads. The gestures, looks, and thoughts exchanged among the strangers speak to the nature of disappearance in a volatile context.

Paper long abstract:

The play is set in the microcosm of a Tunis taxi jama3i. Minibuses take off incessantly from Bhar Lazrag – a chaotically built neighbourhood with poor infrastructure inhabited by Tunisians who migrated to the capital from the interior regions and by young people from other African countries. They link the neighbourhood at full speed with the wealthy quarters of Marsa – Le Protectorat de la Marsa, some call it, due to its concentrated population of French expats. The full ride barely takes 15 minutes. As different passengers get on and off, word of disappearances starts spreading. Tunisians being disappeared at sea by their country’s coastguards attempting to stop them from reaching Europe. People from other African countries being picked up from the street and deported to the desert borders with Libya and Algeria. Others disappearing in police stations. Entire taxi jama3i are rumoured to be disappearing too – or are they fleeing? The gestures, looks, and thoughts exchanged among those on board speak to transient but significant moments of solidarity among strangers in a volatile political context.

This ethnographic play infused with science fiction explores the workings of disappearance. It brings together the tangible ways in which people go about looking for loved ones, and the intangible ways in which disappearance manifests itself in beliefs as to what might have happened to the missing. It also draws attention to when the absences of strangers are felt – when, for instance, entire neighbourhoods like Bhar Lazrag are emptied out.