JEBENIANA, Tunisia — Hundreds of Tunisians marched through the streets of Jebeniana on Saturday to protest the presence of stranded sub-Saharan migrants as the country steps up border patrol efforts.
Anger against migrants is rising in impoverished towns like Jebeniana, along the Tunisian coast, which have become a launching pad for thousands of people hoping to reach Europe by boat.
Chanting slogans to oppose the settlement of migrants in Tunisia, protesters demanded that the government act to help farming communities caring for thousands of migrants living in tarp camps among their olive groves.
“You brought them here and it is your responsibility to send them back to their countries of origin,” Moamen Salemi, a 63-year-old retiree from nearby El Amra, said at the protest. “There is a shortage of food throughout the city of El Amra, including sugar, flour, bread and many other items.”
Jebeniana and El Amra, the last stop for many who dream of a better life in Europe, reflect the complex problems facing Tunisia, a key transit point for migrants from Syria, Bangladesh and a variety of sub-Saharan African nations.
Law enforcement has expanded its presence in the two agricultural cities, where approximately 83,000 Tunisians live among a growing number of immigrants from around the world.
Protesters say they have borne the cost of Tunisia’s effort to prevent migrants from reaching the European Union, less than a year after the country negotiated an anti-immigration pact with the 27-nation bloc to better police its maritime border and receive more than one billion euros. ($1.1 billion) in aid.
The Tunisian Coast Guard has said it has prevented more than 21,000 migration attempts by land or sea this year. Fewer than 8,000 successfully traveled by boat from Tunisia to Italy in the first four months of 2024, three times fewer than in 2023, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
This year, more Tunisians have traveled to Italy on improvised boats than immigrants from sub-Saharan African countries.
Anti-immigrant protests broke out in the city of Sfax last year, months after Tunisian President Kais Saied called for measures to address violence and crime he said were caused by illegal immigration. But they are a novelty in Jebeniana and El Amra, where a similar protest took place earlier this month.
The camps emerged and expanded on the outskirts of the two cities after local authorities increasingly began clearing them from Sfax last year.
The Tunisia office of the International Organization for Migration has said that approximately 7,000 migrants live near Jebeniana and El Amra, although residents estimate the number could be much higher.
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