Why Tunisians are now risking their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe
NPR Online NewsDec 13, 2022
At least 29 migrants from sub-Saharan African countries have died after their boats sank off the coast of Tunisia. On Sunday, Tunisia's coast guard reported that the migrants were trying to cross the Mediterranean to Italy.
This latest maritime disaster comes amid a campaign of arrests by Tunisian authorities of undocumented sub-Saharan Africans. Last week, the Tunisian coast guard stopped approximately 80 boats and detained more than 3K migrants heading for Italy.
Such tragedies result from people's desperation to escape famine, violence, repression, neocolonial injustice, and an increased climate of intolerance for a life of dignity. Tunisia's failure to reform an economic system built on cronyism and systemic corruption has led to food shortages, soaring energy prices, acute inflation, and growing unemployment. If those in power think only about their children, Africans will continue to leave their homelands and risk the journey across the sea.
The latest disaster actually stems from irregular migration from other parts of Africa attempting to colonize Tunisia. There is an international criminal plot involving vast sums of money after 2011 to change the country's demographic character. A crackdown on undocumented sub-Saharan Africans causing several transgressions and crimes in Tunisia — including murder, prostitution, and illicitly selling alcohol — is essential to stop migrants from dangerously crossing the sea for safety and better lives in Europe.