Are Black people welcome in Tunisia? | The Stream

Activists in Tunisia are raising alarm over an increase in racist violence and hate speech against sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees who reside in the country. The increasingly inflammatory rhetoric has also been accompanied by crackdowns on migrants marked by arrests, detentions and evictions.

The outrage follows recent statements by Tunisian President Kais Saied espousing what protesters are saying is xenophobic and anti-Black racist rhetoric. President Saied claimed that the presence of migrants is part of a plot to change the country’s demographic composition. Following backlash, he made a statement denouncing racism and announcing changes to visa rules for African citizens.

While activists remain sceptical of his announcements, the rhetoric, critics say, is similar to the “great replacement theory”; a popular conspiracy theory among nationalists used to stoke populist and xenophobic support.

This comes at a time when the country’s economic, political and social stability continues to decline leading analysts to view the turn against migrants and refugees as a brazen effort to scapegoat the country’s downturn.

Anti-Black racism and anti-immigrant sentiment has long been a simmering issue in the country, and in solidarity many Tunisians are taking to the streets and social media to protest in support of migrants and share their own experiences with anti-Black racism in Tunisia.

In response, countries and international bodies alike have condemned the violence and speech. The World Bank is pausing future work with the country, the African Union has issued a statement denouncing the treatment of migrants, and several sub-Saharan countries have begun repatriation of citizens who wish to leave Tunisia.

In this episode of The Stream, we’ll look at what’s driving racism and violence against Black people in Tunisia.

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#aljazeeraenglish
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#tunisia

[alasanatouray]

I am black west african. I was in north africa, specifically Libya and Morocco. In Libya they call us "slaves" in the streets and in Morocco, the police targets us. The African Union is a SHAME!!

[siakasteventar]

You guyz should talk about Algeria too

[chibuzoboltzmann]

Isn't it strange that there is no black African country where blacks flock to? While the things going on in Tunisia is bad, why aren't sub Saharan Africa not doing something for the black race.

[pauladdae]

There are some points in regards to this:
1. Ironically it appears that there has been an adoption of the European Great Replacement ideology. The same ideology which, ironically, asserts that both Arabs and Africans are plotting targeted demographic replacements of white Europeans!
2. The roots of this stem from the overthrow of Gaddafi as:
- many sub-Saharan Africans (and other North Africans, Bengalis and others) were working there and then after the fall of Gaddafi they fled to Europe via Italy and Greece or were detained in Libya.
- Gangs extorted money from sub-Saharan Africans with the claim to take them to Europe, i.e. people trafficking. Yet only really can get them as far as North Africa.

The EU then gave Libya a vast amount of money to stem the tide of people trafficking from Africa, by setting up processing centres to detain and then send back illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa who had been people trafficked. It appears that some of these individuals may have reached Tunisia and Morocco.
3. The economic and political situation in Tunisia is becoming unstable in any case, and hence anger turned on those migrants. As usually occurs when there are dire economic issues coupled with migration, the migrants or minorities will be scape-goated. So good that they are leaving in such a situation, better to leave such an unstable country as there are nondoubt serious problems coming in Tunisia.
4. In Morocco, the state granted national ID cards to those sub-Saharan African people who are actually working honestly. These migrants hail from countries in West Africa which are unstable at present: Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast largely. A few of the sub-Saharan Africans in Morocco I have heard have been involved in criminality, possibly due to the conditions they have found themselves in- yet this doesn't justify them getting involved in criminality. This just seves to further negative perceptions about sub-Saharan Africa.
5. These migrants may aim to get to Europe, not to stay in North Africa. However, it has been surprising to see some ignorant North Africans claim that the migrants are 'taking over the region' (!?) This is the ideology of Brexit and Great Replacement. As if these migrants are some sort of military force! This is paranoia, exaggeration and the ideology of hatred.
6. Tunisia and elsewhere should not get it twisted. Most sub-Saharan Africans are happy in their countries and not risking their lives in North Africa. These migrants are just a very small number of people from about five core countries from West Africa.
7. Where possible and relevant, such as in the case of criminality, those individuals should be returned to their countries of origin.
8. In terms of Tunis, then one shouldn't be too surprised as it was not that long ago when one of their former leaders said "the hijab is not from our culture" while another said "Ramadan is not good for the economy"?! It appears they are still trying to define precisely what their identity is after decades of extremist secularism.
9. All of this talk about "our identity, our culture", where is it when some North African countries are open for business to Europeans and Westerners for immorality and filth?! Where is "our identity, our culture" when they still genuflect before French elites? Also despite such pompous claims about "our culture, our identity" North Africa underneath is quite divided - as the fall of Gaddafi revealed and the current political situation at present with three different governments! Many of the Amazigh nationalists in Algeria, Morocco, Tunis and Libya are not even Muslim and regard Islam also as a "foreign import, imposed on us against our will". Then there are different Arubi tribes some of whom dislike each other and then the Sahrawi who have a culture more like that of Mauritania. In Tamanrasset in South Algeria the people are black. So the politicians are playing a dangerous nationalist game to demonstrate that they are 'defending the heritage and identity' of the country.
10. There should be coordination and cooperation with the African Union to resolve this issue.
11. There is ignorance in North Africa among the average person about the history of their countries pre-colonialism. This is only really known by expert and specialist historians. It is not taught in schools. Tunisia was a quite racist country. It has a black indigenous population, comprised of black Berber groups (Haratin) and also those descended from trans-Saharan slavery which was active in Tunisia. There are at the bottom of the Social strata in Tunisia. Though now there is at least some action to address this.

Moreover, they talk about "our culture, our identity" when historically North African states raided and attacked West African Muslim empires, as occurred with the fall of the Songhai Empire. While it was black Moroccan soldiers who were at one point forcibly conscripted into the armies of Ismail bin Sharif in the 17th and early 18th centuries.
Also, some of the North African rulers of the 16th century has African mothers! So despite any claims by a few thankfully minority voices in North Africa - history cannot be changed. See Chouki El Hamel's book Black Morocco for more.

[abdiahmed]

I am Somali Canadian and I would like to suggest that the African union should should move the ADB to Rwanda, the reason being Rwanda has giving all African nations a free visa upon on Arrival. Tunisia is racist government toward our African Sub-Saharan nations and they do not deserve to have the African Development Bank in their country after what their president has said. I honestly think President Paul Kegame deserves this honor for Africa. I genuinely think Rwanda should be the home of ADB (African Development Bank) based on their policies toward Africa.

[nancyhagan]

We blacks have become scapegoats in every country in the world
We accept everybody and in the world blacks are a race that don't like fighting just live and let's live attitude
I think the way we don't fight back is the main reasons people abuse us
All the stresses my people are going through
my prayers to them

This is why I can't understand Paul Kagame is accepting all these Arabs refugees in his

[deidradahl]

Africans you have a whole continent consisting of 52 states, stay home and build your own paradise. Never go where you are not wanted, then complain, show the world you are people of substance too

[sophiawilliams]

I await the day when Africa will be free,

[davidatkinson]

What's skin colour got to do with the fact that people don't like financial parasites entering their counties illegally?

[seiffarhat]

Great... now we need an episode on racism in Gulf countries... specifically, In Qatar and how they treat workers from Bangladesh and Pakistan etc 😊

[jamesajike]

Tunisian behaving this way against black people is too bad of them.

[kanyelengb]

Why are people disappointed? The president reaction to the black community in Tunis should not surprise anybody.. All the north Arab countries treat black community like this.9

[holderleio]

The strangest thing in this case is when he asks the president of Tunisia, and his close friends in the government, that his words or hateful speech were misunderstood! This for us is yet another offense against people of common sense. He wants to tell us that we are dumb that we can't understand and only he understands. When he says that South Africans are trying to change the country's demographic geography "he means turning Tunisia into a country of greater Blackness and not Arab" and now he returns to using the world of being the misunderstanding, after all who is the misunderstanding here!? when the Saeid ancestors came to Africa to occupy North Africa, were there Arabs there?

[ebonytv]

Before the Arab spring travelling to Tunis as a black person was fine, can’t comment about now.

[innocentmosala]

The host was giving off obnoxious nonchalant vibes throughout the whole episode, it was really cringe.

[comnet]

We are watching and support you, my beautiful black brothers and sisters in Tunisia. Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

[sophiawilliams]

Tunisia is in Africa why are these people who are Arabia fighting them out of their country and be racist toward the black people.

[elaineshepherd]

I PRAY AFRICA CAN FINALLY MAKE MONEY OFF OF ITS OWN VAST RESOURCES SO ITS PEOPLE CAN FINALLY STOP HAVING TO LEAVE TO GO TO OTHER COUNTRIES THAT EXPLOIT AND MISTREAT THEM.

[afroisme]

...what has Alhazeera done with the Tunisian racism? Are you just screaming and just trying to get mileage out of this?

[stonedestone]

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere