Several African nationals are still homeless and jobless, while others report ongoing racial attacks weeks after Tunisia’s crackdown on migrants. This has led to a dangerous rush to flee on smuggling boats for Italy.
Many African migrants who have been living in a makeshift camp outside the UNHCR in Tunis, including those with children, after authorities ordered landlords to evict them from their homes, protested this week.
“We must flee the area. Not safe in Tunisia. When you have this color, nobody has a future in this place. Having this color is illegal “pointed to his forearm’s skin, Josephus Thomas stated.
President Kais Saied portrayed illegal immigration as a criminal plot to alter Tunisia’s demographics while launching the crackdown on it on February 21. The African Union referred to this as “racialized hate speech.”
Saied’s remarks, according to U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Rose, have sparked “attacks and a tidal wave of racist speech,” with rights organizations reporting that hundreds of migrants have been physically assaulted or insulted.
Saied and the foreign minister of Tunisia both denied any racial bias on their part and announced plans to make it easier for Africans to obtain visas while also reminding law enforcement of the country’s anti-racism policies.