"Tunisia, the hell of exiles," on Arte: words of migrants hunted by the authorities

ARTE – SATURDAY, JUNE 7 AT 6:50 PM – DOCUMENTARY

The report opens in a makeshift camp, set up in an olive grove somewhere in southeastern Tunisia, about forty kilometers from the major port city of Sfax. Ibrahim, a 25-year-old Sierra Leonean who studied medicine in his home country, is tasked with overseeing a special event: a birth.

The expectant mother chose to give birth inside a plastic-covered tent, preferring to lie on rudimentary mats rather than enjoy the comfort and equipment of a maternity ward. Going to the hospital, she said, meant taking the risk of being arrested by law enforcement. "The police are hunting us like animals," she said. This fear is part of a climate of increased repression against migrants in Tunisia.

According to authorities, some 20,000 exiles are surviving in the olive groves near Sfax. From there, they hope to one day set sail and reach the Italian island of Lampedusa by boat. But this journey has become nearly impossible. Between January ¹ and June ¹ , only 1,241 people reached European shores, compared to more than 26,000 over the same period two years ago, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The agreement reached in the summer of 2023 between Tunisia and the European Union aims to curb migration, but at what human cost?

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