A study conducted by the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights specialising in immigration issues has revealed that more than 75 per cent of sub-Saharan African migrants were pushed across the border into Tunisia. Thousands of sub-Saharan migrants are in the North African country and want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy in search of better life chances in Europe.
The study included a sample of 379 migrants in the northern, central and southern parts of Tunisia between March and May 2024. It revealed that 84.7 per cent of the migrants entered the country without visas. Sixty per cent entered through the shared border with Algeria, and 23 per cent entered across the Libyan border. Sudan is also on the list of countries from which migrants arrive in Tunisia.
Just over 75 per cent of the migrants said that they were pushed across the border to Tunisia, although it wasn’t their choice to enter the country.
According to the study, more than half of the migrants sleep in the open, while 77 per cent of respondents said that they had been exposed to violence, whether verbal or physical, at least once. Two-thirds claim to have fled repressive regimes.
The Tunisian government complains about the dangerous repercussions of migration on the country’s economy and the environment, health and agricultural sectors, with most migrants spending their nights in forests and olive farms near the coast of Sfax in particular.
The EU signed a memorandum of understanding with Tunisia in July 2023 to limit migrant flow on the coast of Italy in exchange for financial and economic incentives. Interior Minister Khaled Al-Nouri said that efforts to combat irregular migration drain the state of more than $112 million annually.