Anonymous scholars accuse African migrants of ‘invading Tunisia’

A group of anonymous scholars and journalists from Sfax in Tunisia have written a shocking and deeply racist open letter accusing African migrants of “invading Tunisian territory.”

An anonymous group of scholars and journalists from Sfax, #Tunisia have published an open letter addressed to Kais Saied calling for expulsion of migrants who are "invading" Tunisia

It reeks of anti-migrant and anti-Black hatredhttps://t.co/9TpRwjdURe

— Shreya Parikh شريا پریکھ (@shreya_parikh) June 11, 2023

The letter, which was published in the Tunis based website La Presse, has now been deleted but was archived online.

The letter accuses African migrants of flowing across the Algerian border, many with tuberculosis, “creating a real public health problem.”

“By touring Sfax and its suburbs, as an example of cities seriously affected by these flows, one can realise the constantly growing number of irregular migrants.”

“Popular neighbourhoods are occupied at too high a rate by these Africans. Same for some buildings. Hence the difficulty for a Tunisian to find an apartment to rent. The same observation is also true for work.”

The letter goes on to state that society has deteriorated, and that black Africans are a source of illness, theft and drug trafficking.

Towards the end, the anonymous authors call on President Kais Saied to systematically expel all irregular African migrants and strictly protect land and sea borders.

La Presse has now apologised to the sub-Saharan community in Sfax for publishing the letter, “which contains discriminatory and racist remarks.”

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The letter follows an international outcry at the beginning of this year after Saied made an inflammatory, racist speech, declaring that immigration into Tunisia is a plot aimed at changing the demography of the country.

Saied called on security forces to take “urgent measures” against the “hordes” of undocumented sub-Saharan Africans he accused of being responsible for a wave of crimes.

Following the speech armed mobs attacked black people, robbed them and threatened women with sexual violence.

People who had suffered violence or had lost their homes or jobs because of the speech, later reported being arrested if they spoke to the media.

Despite the involvement of the African Union and the World Bank, this latest anonymous letter shows that racism has only worsened in Tunisia.

A couple of months before Saied’s speech, Tunisia’s Nationalist Party, which promotes the far-right’s great replacement theory, began a petition to expel migrants from the country and collected almost one million signatures.

Since 2021, Saied has reversed any democratic gains the country made during the Arab Spring, chipping away at the independence of the judiciary and imprisoning opposition members on spurious charges.