Migrants in Tunisia testify to increased harassment after the country’s president ordered all illegal immigrants to leave the country.
In an interview, the country’s foreign minister says that Tunisia will not apologize for the president’s statement – despite harsh criticism from, among others, the African Union.
In recent days, a large number of migrants have applied to the UNHCR office in Tunis, with demands for protection.
– We are harassed in the streets, people insult us and ask us to go home. The situation is unbearable, says Mohamed Salah, from Sudan.
It was in a speech last week that the country’s president said there was a deliberate plan to erase Tunisia’s Arab-Muslim identity by bringing in illegal migrants from sub-Saharan countries. Migrants he said brought violence and crime. He ordered immediate action.
Since then, there has been a wave of arrests. But migrants also report that they have been subjected to harassment of various kinds.
Human rights organizations have protested loudly against the statement, which they say was racist and legitimizes violence against people of a different skin color.
– President Saied’s speech caused something to break. It hurt deeply, a wound that will take years to heal, says Henda Chenaoui, a member of the Front against Racism.
There are around 20,000 illegal migrants from southern Africa in Tunisia. But also people who are in the country legally have had problems.
– The president has incited people against each other. Racism has gotten worse. It has become normal to be harassed simply because of skin color, says Nibras Mjanah, who is participating in a demonstration against the new policy.
President Kais Saied came to power in 2019. In the past two years, he has been accused of increasingly authoritarian methods. He has dissolved both government and parliament and carried out a constitutional reform that gives him almost unfettered power. Recently, a number of opposition figures have been arrested.
Tunisia is one of the countries in North Africa under pressure from European countries to stop the flow of migrants in dangerous boats across the Mediterranean.
The country’s foreign minister, Nabil Ammar, is now trying to pour oil on the waves, but at the same time defends the president’s statements.
– Legal migrants are not a problem. On the contrary – we want more of them. They are like Tunisian ambassadors in Africa. But illegal migrants are asked to go home, respecting their rights and dignity.
– We are squeezed between north and south. When we address a problem, we are called racists.