Tunis

- On November 29, a plane coming from the Italian Palermo Airport landed at Tabarka Airport (northwest of Tunisia), carrying dozens of illegal immigrants forcibly deported from Italian territory, including the young man, Taha Hammouda.

A trip is not the first and will not be the last, according to human rights advocates and immigration specialists, after its pace increased over the past few months, to become the Tabarka airport, which has been closed for years, more like a border unloading point for forcibly deported migrants from Europe as part of a deal described as secret with the Tunisian authorities.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Taha recalls with all the pain and sadness of his perilous journey when he decided to board the illegal immigration boat from the coast of the Tunisian city of Sfax towards the Italian island of Lampedusa, after he narrowed his ways to join his foreign wife in the face of the French authorities' refusal to enable him to obtain a legal travel visa.

40 people, including women, participated in the 4-day death journey due to bad weather, after which the dilapidated boat, or "the roof", reached the Italian island of Lampedusa, where they were received in the accommodation center for two days, and then they were quarantined on an Italian naval vessel for 10 days. .

The journey of real suffering, as narrated by Taha, began with the end of the quarantine period. He was not fortunate enough to infiltrate from Italian territory towards France. Rather, the deportation vehicle was waiting for him, and two Italian policemen tied him in shackles, after an inspection that he described as humiliating and insulting to his dignity, to be transferred to a prison, and then deported. To Tunisia forcibly and forcing him to sign a paper to this effect.

Taha feels bitterness and pain because all he asked for is the right to move around and meet his French wife, but he nevertheless confirms his readiness to embark on the sea again, regardless of the consequences, in order to reunite the family, he says.

security treatment

The repeated scenes of forcible deportation of irregular migrants are troubling human rights organizations specializing in migration affairs, including the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, which considered the deportation decision a violation of the rights of these migrants, especially as some of them are waiting to regularize their status.

Forum spokesman Ramadan bin Omar - in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net - denounces the security approach adopted by the Tunisian side and European countries in addressing the phenomenon of illegal immigration, which has increased in frequency over the past months, disregarding all international treaties on the phenomenon of migration and the natural right of movement and travel.

Recent figures from the Tunisian Forum confirm that the number of illegal immigrants with Tunisian nationality who have been detained in asylum centers in Italy has reached 2,623 out of a total of 4,387 people, or 59.5%, while these people account for the largest proportion of the number of deportees compared to other nationalities.

The period between January 1 and April 30, 2021 saw the deportation of 618 Tunisian immigrants out of 1,097 of all nationalities, or 56.3%.

Ben Omar did not hide his fear that Tunisia might conclude an undeclared agreement with European countries, especially France and Italy, with the aim of accelerating the process of deporting irregular migrants.

He stressed that the authorities in Tunisia cooperated - especially with France - in activating the mechanism for accelerating the consular procedures for the deportation of irregular Tunisian immigrants, unlike the countries of Algeria and Morocco, which refused to cooperate with France in this regard.

He added: "Tunisian policy in the field of irregular migration has become limited to the role of European border guard by giving the green light for forced deportation and readmission of migrants."

shocking numbers

Our interviewer revealed - in the same context - numbers that he described as shocking, after the Tunisian authorities prevented, during the last 11 months, more than 24,000 irregular migrants from reaching the Italian coasts.

A figure that represents more than 55 percent of the total number of Tunisian migrants blocked over the last ten years.

The human rights activist says that "Tunisia is now - more than ever - ready to make concessions in the migration issue at the expense of its sovereignty and the dignity of its citizens, in order to achieve some political gains," considering that this dubious security cooperation with the European side made the Army of the Sea and the Guards The coast is just an element under the orders of the European Border Agency.

French praise for Tunisian cooperation

And the French government spokesman, Gabriel Attal, had previously praised - in his speech to French media - the cooperation of the Tunisian authorities in the procedures for deporting irregular migrants, stressing that his country had taken strict decisions regarding the return of migrants who do not have residence permits in France.

Atal pointed out - in the same interview - that Paris's decision to reduce the granting of visas to Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria is a punitive measure, with the aim of urging them to change their policy and agree to issue consular transit permits and deport those concerned to Tunisia.

The French news agency, in a report, estimated the number of Tunisians threatened with deportation from France at 3,424, an increase of 43% compared to the same period last year.

Ben Omar denounces that the stage of security coordination between the Tunisian authorities and the governments of some European countries - especially Italy and France - has reached high levels, with weekly flights allotted to forcibly deport irregular migrants towards Tabarka Airport, northwest of Tunisia.

Our interviewer believes that choosing this airport far from the capital - which is located in a mountainous and uninhabited place - is intended to ensure the confidentiality of the deportation process, away from the eyes of the media, civil society and human rights associations.

According to Magdi Karbai, the representative of the Democratic Current residing in Italy and specialized in issues and immigrant affairs, the Corona pandemic - which struck Tunisia and had painful economic repercussions on the lives of citizens - contributed to the upgrading of the rate of clandestine immigration towards Italy, which has become attracting all age groups and groups without exception.

Al-Karbaei confirms - to Al-Jazeera Net - the pattern of irregular migration towards Italian territory has doubled since the beginning of January 2021 until last November 30, to exceed the number of 15 thousand Tunisians;

A number that has not been recorded since the outbreak of the revolution in 2011.

Thousands of Tunisian youth boarded such a boat in their migration to Europe, only to return back to where they came from (Getty Images)

Our speaker shares the concerns raised by the Economic and Social Rights Forum about the European policies adopted towards the issue of irregular migration and dealing with it with a purely security approach in coordination with the authorities in Tunisia.

Al-Karbaei recalls the exciting visits, "which did not reveal their secrets", to Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese and European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ylva Johansson, and their reception by President Kais Saied.

And the Tunisian president had previously called - during those meetings - to address the causes of the phenomenon of migration, considering that the solution lies in the cooperation of various countries in order to find solutions that guarantee the survival of these migrants in their countries. He also stressed on more than one occasion the need to adopt a comprehensive approach that goes beyond the security solutions that It has proven its limitations.

Our interlocutor fears the conclusion of secret deals between the Tunisian and European sides related to the drafting of new deportation agreements and other revisions that were concluded between the Tunisian side and some European countries.

Doubts reinforced, according to Al-Karbai, by the Tunisian Foreign Ministry's refusal to access information - which he submitted in his capacity as a people's representative - with the aim of reviewing the content of agreements in the migration file between the Tunisian authorities and their European counterparts.

secret document

Al-Karbai's participation by chance in an Italian documentary film entitled "The Way of Return", which monitors - according to him - the file of the deportation of irregular migrants, enabled him to view a confidential document obtained by the work team and signed by the Italian authorities with the Tunisian authorities related to the file of the deportation of migrants.

Our interviewer describes this agreement as humiliating and humiliating for Tunisia, considering that it dressed the Tunisian side as a “guardian” of the Italian borders for a cheap price that does not exceed 8 million euros annually, according to which the Tunisian authorities protect the adjacent bank from the Mediterranean by enabling them to acquire boats and devices for monitoring illegal immigrants and trips clandestine immigration.

Al-Karbai fears that, in the coming months and years, Tunisia will turn into an advanced border center, not only for forcibly deported Tunisian migrants, but even for those whose countries refuse to receive them.