Tunisian President, Qais Saied, described the influx of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa into the country as “unnatural,” calling for a “different approach” to address the situation during a National Security Council meeting.
Saied stated during the meeting, streamed on the Tunisian Presidency’s official Facebook page, that hundreds enter the country daily, with 400 migrants repatriated on Monday alone from the eastern border adjacent to Libya.
Tunisia has witnessed a significant influx of migrants from sub-Saharan African countries for the past two to three years, aiming to reach the Italian coast and onwards to European Union countries in search of better opportunities.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) recorded a record surge in migrant flows along Tunisia’s coast in 2023, accounting for two-thirds of those reaching the Italian islands, totaling over 150,000.
Tunisia insists it cannot bear the burden of the crisis alone and cannot become a country to settle thousands of irregular migrants and asylum seekers.
Saied stated, “Tunisia is in constant coordination with neighboring countries, but we must face the situation differently today because it cannot continue.”
He continued, “While migrants, as victims, are not our doing, they are victims of a global system.”
Italy and the European Union have intensified coordination with Tunisia to curb flows through financial and logistical aid. However, the large numbers of migrants signal a social crisis with local populations in several regions, amid the country’s economic challenges.
Khaled El Ghali, head of the Regional Union of Labor, Tunisia’s largest national organization, in the cities of Jbeniana and El Amra in the Safaqis Governorate, where there is a significant concentration of migrants in olive groves, stated that the European Union must share the crisis burdens.
El Ghali, in his statement to the German news agency (DPA), said, “There must be solutions and cooperation among all parties. If there is a thought for a migrant camp, who will oversee it? The European Union and international organizations must bear their responsibilities.”
