The head of state, who assumed full powers in the summer of 2021, described immigration as a threat to Tunisian identity. Several associations denounce a “scapegoat strategy”, in the midst of a political and economic crisis.
Please do not leave your home, “at least until March 6, 2023”. This dark instruction, given by the Association of African Students and Trainees in Tunisia, has been circulating in recent days on social networks. In question : “an increase in attacks” towards black students in the country, as explained by its president, Christian Kwongang. “It existed before, but the presidential speech made the problems worse”he laments.
THE “speech” in question is a controversial statement by Kaïs Saïed, president elected in 2019, who has been governing alone since July 2021, after having dismissed his Prime Minister and neutralized Parliament. During a security council organized on February 21, the leader mentioned a “business criminal (…) to change the demographic composition of Tunisia” through immigration from sub-Saharan Africa.
Since this speech, black immigrants have suffered an unprecedented wave of violence across the country, as RFI reports. Beatings, stabbings and summary expulsions have been reported by anti-racist associations. Mired in an economic crisis, in the midst of a democratic impasse, Tunisia is tense. And many now fear that minorities will be blamed for all ills.
“The president gave the green light to the violence”
Already struggling with latent xenophobia in Tunisia, the country’s NGOs would have done well without the exit of President Saïed. “His speech is based on fear, he speaks of a hazy threat, which comes from within and from without”, pointed out Ghaydâa Thabet, of the Tunisian Association for Supporting Minorities (ATSM). “Without any proof, or any logic, Tunisians are made to believe that they are threatened. It’s very dangerous !”
In his statement of February 21, the Tunisian leader assures that “gone” would have received from “large sums of money” after the Tunisian revolution of 2011, “in order to bring in immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa” and transform Tunisia into “an African country only, hasinstead of an Arab and Islamic nation.” In his eyes, these “hordes of illegal immigrants” from the south of the desert are also responsible “of crimes and unacceptable acts”.
an accusation “intolerable” for the ATSM, which draws a direct link between these remarks and the violence committed in recent days against black immigrants, as in Sfax, in the center-east of the country. Insults, stabbings, snatching, house fires: on social networks, many immigrants denounce attacks perpetrated by Tunisians.
“It’s an explosion of hatred that we ourselves cannot explain”, laments Saadia Mosbah, president of the M’nemty association, which fights racial discrimination in Tunisia. Racist remarks towards the blacks of the country, the activist heard here and there, in the street or in the media, “especially during sporting events”. On the internet, groups of “Tunisian patriots” accusing immigration of fostering unemployment and delinquency had also gained momentum in recent months, “increasing from a hundred to several thousand members”, emphasizes Saadia Mosbah. “But seeing this speech reach the top of the state, in the mouth of the President, is extremely serious,” strangles the one who denounces a “scapegoat strategy”.
“By designating sub-Saharans as a threat, President Saïed has given the green light to violence. He seems to be saying to Tunisians: ‘It’s legitimate, do what you want!'”
Saadia Mosbah, president of the M’nemty associationat franceinfo
A few days after his inflammatory statements, Kaïs Saïed tried to “to reassure” sub-Saharan immigrants, without however going back on his accusations of a migration plot, as reported by the Tunisian media The Press. On Saturday February 25, several hundred people demonstrated in Tunis against the remarks “hateful and racist” of the leader, during a weekend marked by a new outbreak of xenophobic violence. In an interview with AFP on Monday, February 27, Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar called for “appeasement”, while assuming the position of the government. “There’s no excuses at all, we haven’t hurt anyone.”he defended himself.
A country in full “populist and authoritarian turn”
If Tunisia is on fire over immigration, it is because President Saïed “plays on strong and old tensions” according to Brahim Oumansour, associate researcher at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations, of which he directs the Maghreb Observatory. “The region has long been a transit zone for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, who particularly want to reach Europe, he recalls. But in a weakened country, the migration crisis weighs much more heavily, especially after such declarations.
According to figures cited by the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, an NGO created after the 2011 revolution in Tunisia, the country has around 21,000 sub-Saharan immigrants for 12 million inhabitants, or barely 0.2% Population. Among them are a majority of people in an irregular situation as well as many undeclared workers, but also guest students and expatriates in good standing. “President Saïed makes a great amalgamation of all these populations, he designates them as a target in the midst of an economic and social crisis”believes Brahim Oumansour, who cites an inflation rate of more than 10%, repeated shortages, and “political excesses” observed over the past two years in Tunisia.
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After being largely elected president in October 2019, Kaïs Saïed, a lawyer by profession, shook up the institutions of a barely established democracy. In July 2021, he dismissed his government and suspended Parliament, before having a controversial Constitution adopted by referendum., which considerably reduced the prerogatives of parliamentarians. During the last legislative elections, at the end of December 2022, abstention reached a record level of 92%.
“The president has since governed by decree”, underlines Luis Martinez, director of research at the Center for International Research at Sciences Po Paris. “He’s taken a populist and authoritarian turn, to echo what some of the ‘grassroots’ think, as he calls it.” For the researcher, Kaïs Saïed is only following his roadmap. “He was elected because he was outside the system, against the elites and political Islam, recalls the researcher. MBut he is also someone who is marked by figures like Muammar Gaddafi [ancien dictateur libyen, tué en 2011]. He believes in the need for a strong leader, in the face of politicians whom he considers all corrupt.”
As Luis Martinez points out, Tunisia’s democratic transition, which began after the fall of dictator Ben Ali in 2011, is far from having benefited the whole country. “Farmers have not accessed European markets, tourism has suffered from terrorism, and many Tunisians live in destitution”, he notes. Over 80% in debt, without a real international partner, Tunisia may have found its lifeline: a loan of approximately 2 billion dollars (1.87 billion euros), which the country hopes to obtain soon from of the International Monetary Fund.
“Tunisians are worried, immigrants are terrified”
While waiting for this hypothetical financial infusion, the situation remains very tense in Tunisia concerning racial discrimination. “We are witnessing a witch huntalerts the ATSM. People report sub-Saharans to the police, some bosses have been intimidated, landlords have had to evict their tenants, despite the contracts.” Victims or witnesses of acts of racist violence, dozens of sub-Saharan immigrants have left their homes to take refuge near official buildings, such as the United Nations branch or the embassy of their country of origin.
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“Some have almost nothing left, even though they had lived here for four or five years”deplores Saadia Mosbah, who evokes “looting” and racketeering in the middle of the street – a “new stage” in the persecution of black immigrants. “We were unfortunately already used to cases of rape, because every week, housekeepers, hotel or restaurant workers are attacked at their place of work, she relates. But now everyone is afraid for their physical safety.”
“Sub-Saharans tell us that they are afraid of the police, but also of Tunisian citizens.”
Saadia Mosbah, president of the M’nemty associationat franceinfo
After a wave of arrests of political opponents last month, the arrests of black immigrants have followed since the statements of the Tunisian president, reports Saadia Mosbah. “We pick them up without asking them anything”, denounces the president of the M’nemty association. “Everything depends on the color of their skin, and people in regular situations, just like black Tunisians, are part of the lot.” For the activist, a “climate of fear” is spreading rapidly across the country. “Tunisians are worried, immigrants are terrified”she summarizes.
Asked about the means to resolve these crises, NGOs and researchers are pessimistic. “Kaïs Saïed appears more and more with the army and the police, he embodies an authority difficult to contest”points out a Tunisian political scientist, who wishes to remain anonymous “for fear of being arrested”. “The president has destroyed the intermediate bodies and is now attacking the opposition”, she continues. Enjoyedseveral times invited to leave power, Kaïs Saïed does not want to let go of the ballast, nor let go of the reins. Should he fear a setback in the next presidential election, scheduled for 2024? “Without a political alternative, this election should not create any surprises”slice Luis Martinez.