Migrants: crossings are increasing from Tunisia

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2 min

Crossing attempts in the central Mediterranean are up sharply compared to 2019, especially in Tunisia. Two NGOs, Médecins sans frontières (MSF) and Sea Watch, announce that they will soon launch a joint mission to rescue migrants, as there have been none since the beginning of July.

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Since the start of the year, attempts to cross the central Mediterranean have risen sharply compared to the first half of 2019, even if they remain lower than in 2018 . From Tunisia, they increased by 462%, according to UNHCR figures. And they have been increasing in particular for a month.

Of the approximately 12,000 migrants who arrived in Italy between the start of the year and the end of July, almost half came from Tunisia. And a majority are Tunisians, according to Italian authorities. The latter attribute the increase in arrivals to the coronavirus crisis, and its economic and social fallout.

► Read also: Rescue of migrants will resume in August in the Mediterranean

A few days ago, the Italian Ministry of the Interior spoke of “  an exceptional flow of economic migrants  ”. Faced with this situation, the Italian Minister of the Interior went to Carthage in Tunisia about ten days ago. Luciana Lamorgese was received by the president to discuss the issue of the fight against these clandestine migrations.

A few days later, last Sunday, the Tunisian head of state went to Sfax and Mahdia, on the Tunisian coast, the two main points of departure for boats trying to reach Italy. Kaïs Saïed felt that the security approach was not enough, that it was also necessary to address the causes of this migratory phenomenon. He pointed out the distribution of wealth in the world, but also the economic and political problems of Tunisia.

Tunisia was experiencing an economic and social crisis, even before the Covid. The Covid worsened this situation. There are more unemployed people, more poverty. [...] And also, Tunisia knows a political crisis. These are negative messages for Tunisians.

Romdhane Ben Amor, member of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights

Magali Lagrange

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• Tunisia
• International Migration
• Immigration
• Italy

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