TASSC Condemns Inhumane Expulsion of Black African Migrants and Asylum Seekers from Tunisia
Human Rights Watch, Women and children expelled by Tunisian authorities to the Libyan border stand by the shore, July 6, 2023. © 2023 Private
By: Chloe Phely-Bobin*
Tunisian security forces have reportedly expelled 1,200 Black African migrants and asylum seekers since July 2, 2023.[1] According to Human Rights Watch, authorities have taken groups to a remote, militarized buffer zone on the Tunisia-Libya border. Among the expelled are pregnant women, children, and those with regular and irregular legal status in the country.[2]
The expulsions are a result of a speech made by President Kais Saied in February 2023, in which he linked undocumented African migrants to crime and a conspiracy to alter the demographic makeup of Tunisia.[3] The Tunisian nationalists’ version of the “Great Replacement” theory claims that Black Africans will repopulate Arab Tunisia and inspired the speech.[4] Saied compared the migrants to “cancer cells” and blamed them for inflation and shortages of goods.[5]
“TASSC strongly condemns Tunisia's removal of sub-Saharan African migrants to a desolate area along the border with Libya,” says TASSC Executive Director Aymen Tabir. “We are deeply concerned about the well-being of these vulnerable individuals, particularly women and children, left in a closed military zone in the desert.
“Migrants, regardless of their legal status, deserve dignity, respect, and protection of their human rights. Forced removals and placing migrants in isolated areas violate international obligations and increase their vulnerability to abuse and exploitation.”
People of many African nationalities have been targeted – including Ivorian, Cameroonian, Malian, Guinean, Chadian, Sudanese, and Senegalese. At least six were asylum seekers registered with the UN Refugee Agency, and at least two adults were students in Tunisia.[6]
The expelled persons were arrested during police, national guard, or military raids in the Sfax metropolitan area and transported to Ben Guerdane, then the Libyan border.[7] They have been in the desert for days without food, water, or sun protection.[8] Security forces smashed phones and confiscated food at the border.[9]
Migrants interviewed by Human Rights Watch alleged that between July 2 and 5, several people died in the area. Some had been shot or beaten by the Tunisian military or national guard. Additionally, Libyan men with machetes have robbed and raped people.[10]
Widespread aggression against Black Africans followed the president’s speech in February, including evictions and the loss of jobs. Black Africans have been assaulted, raped, spit on, robbed, dragged through streets, and stabbed.[11] As a result of the violence, many African governments have airlifted their citizens to safety.[12]
Before the expulsions in early July, the aggression against Black Africans contributed to a surge in waves of migration to Europe. This year, at least 1,000 people have died en route from Tunisia to Europe in the Mediterranean, the highest death toll since 2017.[13]
Tabir said: “We at TASSC urge the Tunisian government to immediately stop these forced removals and provide support, shelter, and assistance to affected migrants. Tunisia should prioritize fair and humane migration policies that uphold non-discrimination, access to justice, and human rights.
“TASSC stands in solidarity with all affected migrants and calls on the international community to address this urgent humanitarian crisis. Collaboration between governments, civil society, and international bodies is crucial to protecting migrants and finding sustainable solutions.
“We also support survivors of torture among the migrant population, advocating for their specialized support and access to rehabilitative services. TASSC remains committed to their rights and helping them heal and rebuild their lives.
“Let us work together for a world free from torture, where migrants are treated with dignity, and survivors receive the support they need.”
References
Faiola, Anthony. “The racist roots of the rise in migration to Europe this year.” The Washington Post, June 30, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/30/tunisia-migration-great-replacement/
Human Rights Watch. “Tunisia: Crisis as Black Africans Expelled to Libya Border.” July 6, 2023. https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/07/06/tunisia-crisis-black-africans-expelled-libya-border#:~:text=(Tunis)%20%E2%80%93%20Tunisian%20security%20forces,Human%20Rights%20Watch%20said%20today
Human Rights Watch, Women and children expelled by Tunisian authorities to the Libyan border stand by the shore, July 6, 2023. © 2023 Private
Speakman Cordall, Simon. “So thirsty they drank seawater: The refugees Tunisia pushed out.” Al-Jazeera, July 10, 2023. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/10/suffering-of-refugees-on-tunisias-desert-borders#:~:text=Security%20services%20forced%20a%20reported,people%20may%20be%20far%20higher
Yee, Vivian, and Ahmed Ellali. “Tunisia’s President Vilifies Migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa.” March 2, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/02/world/middleeast/tunisia-president-migrants-africa.html
[1] Simon Speakman Cordall, “So thirsty they drank seawater,” Al-Jazeera, July 10, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/10/suffering-of-refugees-on-tunisias-desert-borders#:~:text=Security%20services%20forced%20a%20reported,people%20may%20be%20far%20higher
[2] Human Rights Watch, “Tunisia: Crisis as Black Africans Expelled to Libya Border,” July 6, 2023, https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/07/06/tunisia-crisis-black-africans-expelled-libya-border#:~:text=(Tunis)%20%E2%80%93%20Tunisian%20security%20forces,Human%20Rights%20Watch%20said%20today
[3] Human Rights Watch, “Tunisia: Crisis as Black Africans Expelled to Libya Border.”
[4] Anthony Faiola, “The racist roots of the rise in migration to Europe this year,” The Washington Post, June 30, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/30/tunisia-migration-great-replacement/
[5] Vivian Yee and Ahmed Ellali, “Tunisia’s President Vilifies Migrants From Sub-Saharan Africa,” March 2, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/02/world/middleeast/tunisia-president-migrants-africa.html
[6] Human Rights Watch, “Tunisia: Crisis as Black Africans Expelled to Libya Border.”
[7] Human Rights Watch, “Tunisia: Crisis as Black Africans Expelled to Libya Border.”
[8] Simon Speakman Cordall, “So thirsty they drank seawater.”
[9] Human Rights Watch, “Tunisia: Crisis as Black Africans Expelled to Libya Border.”
[10] Human Rights Watch, “Tunisia: Crisis as Black Africans Expelled to Libya Border.”
[11] Anthony Faiola, “The racist roots of the rise in migration to Europe this year.”
[12] Simon Speakman Cordall, “So thirsty they drank seawater.”
[13] Anthony Faiola, “The racist roots of the rise in migration to Europe this year.”
*Chloe Phely-Bobin is a rising senior at the University of California at Berkeley and an Advocacy intern at TASSC