![]() Marks of NYU Abu Dhabi has collected testimonies from several migrants facing racism in Tunisia and has documented their plight on Twitter. The UN’s International Organization for Migration praised Tunisia’s efforts on migration in a statement to CNN, but said it was “very concerned about the latest rise in hate speeches, anti-migrant narratives and the surge in violence against migrants in the country.”Ĭhennaoui, of the Anti-Fascist Front, said there is racism in Tunisia “as there is in any other country,” but noted that what stands out in the country is that racism is being adopted by the highest-ranking officials “which changes everything.” That has galvanized many Tunisians to take to the streets in protest and lend a helping hand to the victims, she said. Tunisia has long been a transit point for undocumented migrants trying to cross into Europe. “Saied’s speech injected the Great Replacement theory and racial hatred into the bloodstream of Tunisia’s political mainstream, and we are witnessing its effects,” said Monica Marks, a professor of Middle East politics at New York University Abu Dhabi who specializes in Tunisia. Her organization has lent support to some of the victims and campaigned against their mistreatment.įor many observers, Saied’s theory about a plot to change the racial makeup of the country echoes the Great Replacement theory, a popular theme in White supremacist and right-wing discourse in Europe and North America that accuses elites of using immigration to replace the native population. They resulted in attacks on migrants in their homes and in the streets, she said. Henda Chennaoui, a coordinator at Tunisia’s Anti-Fascist Front, told CNN that Saied’s comments and racist social media posts caused a historic “shift” in the country’s discourse that would be hard to reverse. Several African countries, including Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea and Gabon, have helped repatriate their citizens as a result of the crackdown. There’s no excuse to give, we didn’t insult no one … We have been put in a position to explain what is already clear,” he said.īoth documented and undocumented migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa have reported a surge in violence. “The Tunisian government … are in the right to say what they say. “Of course, nothing (is) wrong,” he said, referring to Saied’s comments. Tunisia’s Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar scoffed at allegations of racism during an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson on Monday, calling them a “bad joke” meant to serve people “with other agendas,” without elaborating. The controversy also demonstrates the regression of democracy and human rights in the country that sparked the Arab Spring revolts over a decade ago. ![]() His actions, they say, have unleashed xenophobia and exposed the dark underbelly of anti-Black racism in the country. Sub-Saharan Africans make up less than 1% of Tunisia’s population.Ĭritics of the president say he is complicit. Many have camped outside the embassies of their countries or UN agencies seeking safety or flights back home. That caused fear and insecurity to ripple through migrant communities in the country, who say they have faced racist attacks, evictions, firings and dehumanizing treatment by the authorities. He claims Tunisia "cannot be a racist country": /KYjjJIHX2W- Becky Anderson March 13, 2023 Tunisia's foreign minister defends comments made by President Saied about African migrants changing the country's demographics. On February 21, he described illegal border crossings from sub-Saharan Africa into Tunisia as a “ criminal enterprise hatched at the beginning of this century to change the demographic composition of Tunisia” and called on security forces to expel undocumented migrants. Tunisia, like other North African countries, is predominantly Arabic speaking. The sudden rise in public expressions of racism occurred in the weeks after Tunisian President Kais Saied delivered a widely criticized tirade about undocumented migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. Many refer to the debunked but widely shared claim that there are 2 million sub-Saharan Africans in the country of 12 million. Some of the social media posts, shared in Arabic, English and French, have portrayed the migrants as invaders, criminals and rapists who seek to displace Tunisians. It’s one of many circulating in Tunisia that has, in recent weeks, brought to the fore a racism problem in the country that has coincided with an influx of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa who use Tunisia as a transit point to Europe. ![]() The video has garnered more than 600,000 views on Twitter. Asked by the interviewer if he had ever met any Africans, he retorted implying he knows them well “because my grandfather used to buy and sell them.” A viral video from late February showed a man decrying the incompatibility of Black African “values” with those of Tunisians.
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