Tag: tunisia

Europe to Reopen Borders to Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia

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On Friday evening, officials met in Brussels to continue discussions on the list of approved countries the 27 member states of the European Union will reopen their borders to on July 1. 

Among the fourteen countries currently listed are Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. All three countries have large diaspora communities in Europe, members of which regularly travel back to the Maghreb during the summer period. With Eid al-Adha fast approaching, the possibility of passing the celebration with family will no doubt be a source of joy for many in both Europe and the Maghreb. 

The other countries on the list are Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, and Uruguay. 

The EU deemed key European partners including the United States, Russia, and Turkey, not to have the virus sufficiently under control and excluded them from the list. Chinese visitors will be authorized to visit Europe on the condition that China opens its borders to European citizens.

European states will officially adopt this list, which remains subject to modification, on Monday. 

 Tourism in the Maghreb

Tourism is of vital importance to the economies of Morocco and Tunisia with the industry accounting for approximately 20% and 15% of GDP in 2018, respectively. In 2019, Morocco welcomed a record-breaking 13 million visitors.The vast majority of tourists who visit Morocco and Tunisia are European. 

By contrast, tourism remains relatively underdeveloped in Algeria. Last year 2.5 to 3.5 million people visited Algeria, but the majority, according to the tourism ministry, were Algerians living abroad. 

Prior to COVID-19, Algeria announced plans to increase tourism to the country. The country hopes to welcome five million tourists per year by 2025, focusing on wealthier visitors seeking out luxury experiences and adventure tourists. The country also plans to expand the port in Algiers to allow for cruise ships to dock and to develop at least one resort along the Mediterranean coast. 

Under the country’s plans to expand tourism, which will target both European travelers and those from further afield including the United States, China, and Canada, tourism’s share of GDP will triple to 4.5% by 2025. This remains considerably less than the contribution tourism makes to the GDP of Morocco and Tunisia. 

Uncertainty remains for Moroccans and Algerians

Whilst Tunisia reopened its borders earlier today, Morocco and Algeria are yet to confirm a reopening date. Like Tunisia, both countries closed their borders in mid-March in an attempt to stop the importation of the virus from abroad. The state of emergency declared in Morocco, as a result of coronavirus, is in place until at least July 10. 

While Morocco has yet to make an official announcement, Bladi reports that British Ambassador to Morocco Thomas Reilly tweeted earlier this week the borders would reopen on July 10. The tweet is no longer available. 

Moroccan sources have indicated that the borders are likely to reopen after the 10th, however no date has been set. 

There has been no indication from the Algerian government as to when its borders will reopen to tourists.

Fakhfakh Gate Rocks Tunisia

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It was a tough night for Tunisian Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh as he faced intense questioning from parliamentarians over what the Tunisian media has dubbed “Fakhfakh Gate.” A plenary session on Thursday night lasted until 4 a.m. as lawmakers grilled the prime minister in what Le Courrier de l’Atlas described as “a night of the long knives.”

Fakhfakh had faced accusations of a conflict of interest over his role as a shareholder of a company that has allegedly benefited from the prime minister’s governing policies. The prime minister attempted to address the issue by giving a long speech at the start of Parliament’s June 25 plenary session in which he appeared combative against his accusers from opposition parties.

Seventy-three Tunisian lawmakers have now called for a motion of no confidence in their national leader, according to reporting by the North Africa Post on Friday.

Fakhfakh Gate

Fakhfakh’s impassioned and belligerent speech did little to assuage concerns as lawmakers mocked him. The prime minister is accused of being part of a “revolving door” between business and government, a global phenomenon that has become uniquely local because of the scandal.

Leaked documents revealed that Fakhfakh had granted a public waste recycling contract worth $15.4 million to one of his own companies. He did this in the first few months of his premiership, which he says is the reason why he had not yet divested from the company. But many Tunisian politicians have latched onto the scandal as an example of a prevalent and perverse intertwining of business and politics.

Tunisian politicians now aim to address a “scourge” of insider trading and business-to-government collusion, raising the case of former Justice Minister Ghazi Jeribi. Ghazi Jeribi was replaced by his brother Thouraya Jeribi and now is forced to defend problematic ties with Tunisian business interests only months after his departure.

The PM’s response

Fakhfakh has responded to the public scandal by selling his shares in the company that received the $15.4 million tender in question. He has divested himself from all companies that deal directly with the government, but the damage appears to have been done. Independent Parliamentarian Yassine al-Ayari has published new documents that he says reveal further corrupt practices by revealing another granted tender to one of the PM’s companies.

A significant section of the Tunisian Parliament is now calling for investigations over Fakfakh’s accountability as well as how the prime minister profited from his divestment following the scandal. Any evidence of illegal misdealing should provide sufficient ammunition to demand Fakhfakh’s resignation, according to Nabil Hajji of the Congres pour la Republique party.

MP Ayari has asked the Tunisian Counter-Corruption Minister, Mohammed Abbou, to further investigate the prime minister’s conflicts of interests and the accusations that he personally enriched himself through the provision of government tenders.

Consequences

Abbou has called for a “competent” supervisory body to investigate the accusations revealed in “Fakhfakh Gate.” Abbou has also requested copies of all contracts signed with companies where Fakhfakh held a stake and called upon the supervisory body to produce a report to Parliament as soon as possible.

MP Ayari has stressed the importance of the timing of the events. Tunisian law specifies that the country’s prime minister must within 60 days shed himself of possible conflicts of interest, such as shares owned or positions in the private sector.

With Fakhfakh’s belligerent attitude towards his accusers and 72 parliamentarians calling for his resignation, Fakhfakh Gate has truly shaken Tunisian politics as an example of the often incestuous relationship between the country’s private and public sector.

Brutal Tunisian Police Response Fuels 2nd Day of Protests in Tataouine

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Police used tear gas on Sunday to disperse residents in the restive Tunisian city of Tataouine protesting their leader’s detention and the region’s high unemployment rate. Demonstrators formed a sit-in protest camp at El Kamour, outside Tataouine, two months ago to demand the jobs in the oil and gas sector the government promised them in 2017.

Over the past two months, after three years of empty promises, residents of Tataouine demanding more job and economic development opportunities have been staging peaceful demonstrations. On Saturday night, security forces raided the El Kamour sit-in and arrested movement spokesperson Tarek Haddad and other members, who were released on Sunday morning. 

With Haddad still in detention, El Kamour sit-in members took to the streets on Sunday morning calling for his release, protesting the use of force during the Saturday raid and lags in regional economic development. Protestors threw stones at law enforcement officers, blockaded roads with burning tires, and allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at the district police station. 

On June 22 the Tataouine Local Labour Union (URT), which falls under the powerful Tunisian General Workers Union (UGTT), launched a “general strike.”  

They called for authorities to release the activists and criticized the police’s overzealous response, warning “they would be forced to resort to other, more severe forms of struggle” if their demands are not met.  

UGTT Secretary General Noureddine Taboubi echoed the URT demands, and urged the government to enter into “a peaceful and responsible dialogue with a view to finding a way out and giving hope to unemployed youth.” 

As requested, the House of People’s Representatives Bureau confirmed they discussed the situation in Tataouine during their Monday afternoon meeting. The energy minister has also agreed to a meeting in Tataouine on June 23, Tataouine District Governor Adel Werghi said on June 22.  

The Tunisia Press Agency (TAP) reports eight security officers were injured on Sunday. Werghi has defended the police response, saying the intervention was “carried out in accordance with the law.” 

The security forces used tear gas to disperse protestors on Sunday, but undeterred protestors returned on Monday chanting, “we will not give up, we want our right to development and jobs.” The security forces again resorted to using tear gas to diffuse protestors, according to witness and media reports.  

Despite having oil, gas, and underground water reserves, the economy in Tataouine remains primarily agriculture-based. After a 2017 sit-in in El Kamour, the UGTT negotiated a deal between the Tunisian government and sit-in leaders that was supposed to bring in $28 million worth of investment per annum to the impoverished region.  

Protestors say the deal has not materialized and have reverted to the same sit-in tactics used to draw attention to their cause three years ago. Citizens in a number of governorates are feeling the weight of unemployment and Tunisia’s economic stagnation, including in neighboring Kebili and Gafsa. Unemployed residents of the neighboring Gafsa governorate joined the Tataouine protest on June 22.

Read also: Subject of Tunisian COVID-19 Scandal Details Quarantine ‘Escape’

 

 

Subject of Tunisian COVID-19 Scandal Details Quarantine ‘Escape’

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No sooner had Tunisian Prime Minister Elyes Fakfakh said the country had beaten COVID-19, than a scandal broke involving one woman who “escaped” quarantine over the weekend and went on to attend a wedding.  

The woman has since come forward and told local radio she left the state-sanctioned quarantine hotel because of a name mix-up. The young lady, who asked to stay anonymous for fear of backlash, said she was in the center after finally being repatriated from what was meant to be a quick trip to Canada, but turned into a three month ordeal because of COVID-19. 

After petitioning the Tunisian Embassy in Canada, the woman who normally resides in Menzel Temime was finally able to secure a seat on a repatriation flight alongside her sister. Early on the morning of Sunday, June 7, the pair’s flight from Montreal touched down in Tunisia. They were temperature tested and sent to a quarantine center in Yasmine Hammamet, where they both spent seven days in confinement.  

“Anarchy” at Quarantine Hotel  

On the eighth day of quarantine, and still asymptomatic, the woman left the COVID-19 hotel believing she had been cleared by authorities.  

“At the reception, there was a lot of anarchy, no-one knew what to do — to stay or to go,” she told local radio station Sabra FM.

“A few hours earlier, they knocked on the doors of our rooms and told us to take our luggage downstairs to the reception, and that we could leave.  

“Confused, we spent a long time waiting in the reception, from 5pm to 11pm. During that entire time, no one told us anything. On the contrary, the tension was so high that fights began to break out,” she explained.   

After leaving she visited her parents and attended a family wedding in Menzel Temime — where 80 people who came into contact with her are now in mandatory isolation, according to TAP News.  

After the ceremony, the young lady received a phone call from the quarantine facility telling her to return. It now appears that it was her sister, who has the same family name, that was actually authorized to leave.   

“When they began to announce the names of those who could leave quarantine, I heard my surname. I thought they meant me, but in fact it was my sister. It was my fault for not checking the name properly,” she said.

“I still have no documentation to say that I have tested positive. I had been there for a whole week, and received not a single document to say that I was positive. No one said that there was a positive case either. Logically, if you have a positive case, you would think they would have left them in their room. That was not the case.” 

The young lady felt the need to come forward and tell her side of the story, given the abuse she has endured and the rumors flying about the incident. “Do you think I’m that reckless?” she told the radio host. 

Media reports said the woman ate at a restaurant with her fiancé after leaving the COVID-19 hotel and infected a number of police officers before returning to the facilities — allegations she denies. 

Tunisian Blunders 

On June 18, another story emerged that another young person — this time a 24-year-old man repatriated from Kuwait, had been wrongly given permission to leave quarantine despite testing positive for COVID-19. The man arrived back in Tunisia on June 9 and had been under mandatory quarantine in a hotel until he was released on Tuesday, before receiving his test results.  

The Ksour Essef resident’s test came back positive, and he has now been transferred to a COVID-19 treatment center in Monastir. Health authorities are now busily tracing and testing his family and friends.  

The poor handling of these two cases has raised serious doubts about the Tunisian government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and thrown into question its de-confinement strategy. 

On Sunday, June 14, the virus seemed to be under control. Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh made what now appears to be a premature declaration of victory against COVID-19. After the announcement, cases spiked on June 16 and 17.  

Nevertheless, Tunisia’s COVID-19 case load remains low compared with its neighbors. There are only 1,128 total confirmed cases and 50 deaths, and just 74 of those cases remain active.  

Despite warnings from Health Minister Abdellatif Mekki about a second wave of the virus, Tunisia is still on track to become the first North African country to reopen all borders on June 27.

Read also: Tunisia Eyes Economy After Declaring COVID-19 Victory

MENA Region Faces Wave of Post-Lockdown Protests

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Citizens of several countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have taken to the streets following the easing of COVID-19 measures. Citizens are demanding action from their governments after having adhered to painful lockdowns and curfews that brought severe economic hardship.

In Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Tunisia, large protests have emerged over the last week as citizens call upon government officials to ease their suffering. While COVID-19 fears begin to wane, a new focus on structural poverty and inefficient government is emerging across the region as protesters express their discontent.

Lebanon

The Lebanese military arrested dozens of protesters on Monday, June 15, for alleged acts of vandalism. Protesters expressed their frustration with skyrocketing inflation amid a spiraling currency crisis, while the indebted nation struggles to balance its debt obligations with popular demands for a significant increase in living conditions.

After nearly two months of empty streets, economic deprivation, and fear of the coronavirus, the Lebanese people have returned to the streets to protest the lack of solutions offered by the government of Hassan Diab. Banks and shops were attacked as Lebanese people grow more desperate, even as new sanctions on neighboring country Syria are likely to further damage Lebanon’s economy.

Iraq

Newly inaugurated prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s “honeymoon phase” in government has ended quickly as increasing austerity measures are sparking furious protests. Monthly pensions were hit by a drop in oil-revenue that is forcing the government to take unpopular measures. Nearly one million Iraqis depend on their pension each month and this month the $920 pension was more than $100 short, according to France24.

The Iraqi government has introduced several ambitious reform plans, but a dramatic fall in government revenue as a result of cratered oil prices and production cuts has meant introducing painful cuts to public sector salaries and pensions. Public sector employment has served as a method to appease Iraqis since the 2003 US invasion, but falling state oil revenues have now undermined this strategy.

Syria

Syria has seen few large protests since the 2011 pro-democracy protests that started a civil war. But protests again emerged over the rise in prices of basic necessities, a doubling in food prices and continued corruption in government. The city of Druze saw four days of intense protests as the Syrian Pound continues to fall dramatically in value.

The protesters are unlikely to see a swift resolution to their concerns as the “Caesar Act,” a new round of US sanctions targeting Syria, is set to heavily impact the last remaining economic activity that has sustained the country’s flailing economy. With an apparent consolidation of power ongoing in Damascus that has gone public, Bashar al-Assad’s regime is facing renewed pressure from all sides.

Tunisia

Protests have emerged in at least seven Tunisian cities, Reuters reported on Thursday, June 18. Unemployed and economically deprived people across the country protested what they considered government inaction in the face of a continued economic crisis. University graduates shouted “we need jobs” in Gafsa and hundreds protested in Hajeb el Ayoun and Sidi Bouzid.

The Tunisian tourism sector has suffered an unprecedented crisis after COVID-19 measures closed borders and shut the industry that provides 10% of state revenue. After a decade of high inflation and unemployment, Tunisians now call for an increased focus on jobs by protesting and even halting the country’s phosphate production through sit-ins.

A new era

The current protests across the MENA-region are likely only the beginning of popular unrest in the region, with global institutes like the IMF predicting that local economies will suffer from post-lockdown economic woes for some time to come. Protests against corruption and ineffective government appear to be supported by data, and the World Bank has called for greater transparency from MENA-governments.

As global oil prices continue to be volatile, supported by painful production cuts, revenue will likely remain impacted in many oil-dependent MENA-countries. With structural economic issues in many countries, unemployment and poverty are likely to worsen in the months ahead, as the region braces itself for a new era of popular discontent.

Fate of Oil Markets Relies on COVID-19 Containment

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Oil prices dipped again on Wednesday, June 17, as Arizona, Florida, and Texas reported record numbers of new COVID-19 cases. Many conservative states have seen an uptick in infections during their drive towards a rapid reopening of local economies with insufficient adherence to containment measures.

The worrying numbers caused oil prices to fall. Brent crude dropped $0.38, 0.9% of the total value, while American WTI oil fell $0.56 or 1.5% of its value. Oil markets had been optimistic over growing demand amid reopening economies, discounting the possibility of a second wave.

But US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci on June 16 stated that the United States had not yet left its first “wave.” “When I look at the TV and I see pictures of people congregating at bars when the location they are indicates they shouldn’t be doing that, that’s very risky,” Fauci said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Second wave

Countries like Tunisia and New Zealand had initially declared themselves coronavirus-free before having to revise expectations after detecting new local infections.

“We think the oil market is not currently pricing in a significant probability of either second waves of coronavirus cases in key consumers and the associated lockdowns, or anything less than a rapid return to economic business-as-usual,” analysts of Standard Chartered told Reuters.

In the midst of a stock market fueled by stimulus spending, in which bankruptcies have been essentially made impossible, oil markets are enjoying less of an artificial boost. The only methods that have helped alleviate prices somewhat are painful production cuts and the closing of wells.

OPEC

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) released its monthly report on June 17, predicting a gradual recovery in global demand for oil. OPEC credited much of its production cuts to the recent slight recovery in oil prices.

“The oil market was strongly supported by a reduction of the global crude oil surplus, thanks mainly to the historic voluntary production adjustment agreement,” OPEC stated in its report, released the same day participants in the OPEC+ production cuts are set to meet to review the impact of the move.

Although OPEC is cautiously optimistic, it still predicts that global oil demand will drop by 6.4 million barrels in the second half of 2020, with transportation and aviation fuels as the main laggards.

Tunisia Eyes Economy After Declaring COVID-19 Victory

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Tunisian Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh used a national address on Tunisian television on Sunday, June 14 to declare victory over the coronavirus epidemic in the North African nation. The prime minister highlighted the repatriation of 25,000 Tunisians from countries abroad as he emphasized Tunisians should be proud of themselves for beating COVID-19.

On June 27, Tunisia will reopen its borders and welcome back tourists who provide much-needed revenue in the country that has seen its economy frozen in place for months. Despite their hit on the economy, the stringent measures and general adherence to lockdowns and curfews was a major contributor to Tunisia’s success, according to Fakhfakh.

Tunisia recorded 1,096 total cases of the coronavirus, with 49 Tunisian casualties. Recoveries are currently at 998, leaving only a few citizens receiving treatment and with few new cases reported since May 10. On June 16, a day after the PM’s speech, 16 new cases were reported according to the North Africa Post.

The country’s relative success in halting the spread of the virus did come at a significant economic cost and uncertainty prevails over whether the country should ask for foreign support.

External debt

On Sunday, Fakhfakh spoke about the economic state of the country as the government faces a $1.6 billion shortage in public financing due to the coronavirus epidemic. The debate has raged regarding whether the country should request funds from international institutions, or whether austerity could alleviate the financial burden.

“External debt reached dangerous levels and now reached 60% of GDP, compared to 30% in 2013 and I decided not to continue in this way,” Fakhfakh told Attessia TV. The government’s proposed solution is a freeze in public sector wages and a reliance on internal loans to solve the economic crisis.

“Public finances are very critical and we cannot continue with the approach of increasing wages,” Fakhfakh stated as the country faces an economy set to shrink by 4.3%. “Public finances are very critical and we cannot continue with the approach of increasing wages,” Fakhfakh said, potentially setting up a conflict with Tunisia’s influential general labor union, UGTT.

Tunisia’s powerful labor union has stated that Tunisia’s average public sector wage of $250 per month is one of the lowest in the world and a freeze on public sector wages would mean personal incomes would decrease in respect to a 6.3% inflation rate.

Debating foreign assistance

Fakhfakh’s proclamation about public sector wages on Sunday will undoubtedly require reconsideration. The World Bank approved a $175 million disbursement from a collective international support fund known as the Resilience and Recovery Emergency Development Policy Operation.

“This crisis is a serious challenge,” Ferid Belhaj of the World Bank stated, “but it could also be an opportunity for Tunisia to redefine its position in the global economy by improving conditions for investment and job creation in the private sector.”

“This is an unprecedented budget support,” Tunisia’s Minister for Development, Investment and International Cooperation, Selim Azzabi stated. But it appears that the aid could come with major demands from the World Bank, as Azzabi said that the aid “required intense inter-donor coordination of several months carried out by our ministry.”

A statement from the World Bank included references to “improve the transparency and performance of state-owned enterprises” and “improving the business climate,” which are often euphemisms for nationalizing industry and cutting taxes and regulations for large businesses.

It is not yet clear whether Fakhfakh’s unpopular announcement on public sector wages is his own decision or simply acquiescence to a condition demanded as part of World Bank assistance.

Tunisian Parliament Votes Down Bill Calling for Apology from French Colonists

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The small centrist Al-Karama bloc proposed the bill and its 19 members wore shirts bearing the slogan, “Murder and torture, the brutality of French colonialism” during the 15 hour parliamentary debate. 

Only 77 of the 217 member assembly voted in favour of the legislation that demanded “compensation to the Tunisian state and to all those who suffered the pain of colonization.”  

“We are not animated by any bitterness or hatred, but such apologies will heal the wounds of the past,” said Seifeddine Makhlouf, President of the centrist Al-Karama party.  

The bill fell well short of the 109 votes required to pass. Its failure has been put down to deep divisions in the parliament, and concerns it could harm the country’s relationship with the former colonial power who remains its number one trading partner.  

“We are not going to feed Tunisians with such motions,” Osama Khelifi, from Qalb Tounes (Heart of Tunis) argued, alluding to Tunisia’s heavy economic and political reliance on France. 

Another factor in the bill’s downfall was Makhlouf’s criticism of Tunisia’s independence president Habib Bourguiba, whom he described as “the servant of France.” Bourguiba was a charismatic ‘father figure’ who led Tunisia to independence and served as the country’s first President from independence in 1957 to 1987, when he was peacefully deposed at age 84.   

“We are for the most part the children of Bourguiba, who led the liberation struggle of the country after long years of imprisonment and deportations and built modern Tunisia by generalising education and by emancipating women,” Tahya Tounes MP Mustapha Ben Ahmed said, in response to the criticism.

Global push against racism, glorifying colonialist figures

The bill comes in the wake of a global wave of anti-racism protests that have reignited conversations about France’s role in slavery and colonial past. The Republic, built on the values of egalité (equality),and fraternité(brotherhood), has witnessed large anti-racism protests and is being forced to address the reality of racism in a country that sees itself as “colour-blind.”   

“France is not blind to racism. France thinks it’s blind to racism,” University of Tours African diaspora researcher Maboula Soumahoro told France24 in February. 

“Because slavery was illegal on the mainland, people in France have the impression that this hyper-racialised history that is characteristic of the modern world only concerns the Americas, when in fact we have our own history,” Soumahoro explained.  

The French Republic’s universalist principles, in conjunction with the realities of the country’s colonial past, have created an environment where racism persists, but is downplayed by politicians and the mainstream media — which, in spite of France’s large Maghrebin and African communities, remains dominated by white voices. 

“The result of this contradiction is a form of universalism that is itself not universal, tainted by a sense of superiority and a tendency to depreciate other cultures,” according to, Carole Reynaud-Paligot historian and author of the “Racial Republic: Racial paradigm and republican ideology” 

“Racism is derived from this context of domination, a context that is still at play today, most notably in France’s relations with the so-called developing world,” Paligot told France24. 

“Racism is derived from this context of domination, a context that is still at play today, most notably in France’s relations with the so-called developing world.” 

Outside of France, statues of slave traders and colonial figures have been torn down by protestors across the globe. Statues of Christopher Columbus, who discovered the Americas, then enslaved, suppressed and massacred its native peoples, have been beheaded, set alight and destroyed in two US cities. While British demonstrators in Bristol tore down and threw the statue of British slave trader Edward Colston into the city’s harbour on Sunday.

Read also: Tourism Losses and COVID-19 Spending Stress Tunisia’s Budget

Mediterranean Claims 20 More Migrant Lives Off Tunisian Coast

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The bodies of 20 migrants trying to reach Europe washed up on the Sfax coast on Tuesday, Tunisian Coast Guard officials reported. The Coast Guard, assisted by the Army, are searching for other passengers from the boat which left Tunisia carrying 53 migrants sometime over the weekend of June 6-7 in an attempt to reach Italy. 

“Horrible news coming in from Tunisia,” UNHCR Global Spokesperson for Africa, Middle East and the Mediterranean Charlie Yaxley tweeted in response to the drownings. 

“Severe lack of search and rescue capacity on the central Med[iterranean]. More rescue boats, including NGO boats, save lives,” he stressed.  

Special Envoy of the UNHCR for the Central Mediterranean Situation Vincent Cochetel said he was, “sad for the lives lost and the affected families” of Tunisia’s latest migrant boat tragedy.   

“There are legal alternatives for refugees and migrants in Tunisia. No one should feel so desperate to risk their life. Hope the smugglers will face justice,” Cochetel tweeted on June 9.  

Smugglers Thwarted  

The tragedy may have been much worse, if it were not for Tunisian authorities who thwarted dozens of migrants from attempting to cross the Mediterranean last week and seized over $200,000 cash in from suspected migrant smugglers.  

The Coast Guard prevented 12 people, all Tunisian citizens, from trying to illegally reach Europe last week. They seized two cars, three motorbikes, three boat moats, fuel, and $7,700 in cash during two separate operations at Zahruni and in the governorates of Tunis and Ariana. 

Meanwhile, the Tunisian National Guard stopped four would-be irregular migrants in the Sfax Governorate, where the latest boat capsize took place early on Tuesday. The National Guard also seized $137,000 from three alleged migrant smugglers on June 3. 

One of the men arrested admitted smugglers were receiving between $1,050 to $1,500 for each migrant they could get on a boat to Europe. The total combined cash recovered from illegal migration operations in the last week now stands at $233,300.

Read also: Tunisia: Zero New COVID-19 Cases Reported, Recoveries Up

Arab Filmmakers Embrace Genre Films

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On June 6, Netflix began streaming Tunisian cinema’s first horror movie, “Dachra.” The film’s move to Netflix follows a highly successful cinematic release in Tunisia where the movie smashed box-office records.  

Originally released in 2018, “Dachra” follows three journalism students seeking to unravel the 20-year mystery of a woman found partially mutilated and later committed to a psychiatric facility. As the students attempt to verify claims the woman is a witch, they are drawn into a reclusive community in the woods. 

The story mixes North African folklore, including the existence of Zouhri children whose blood is believed to release hidden treasures guarded by “djinns,” with heartstopping suspense and craftful filmmaking. It is the first feature film from actor, producer, and director Abdelhamid Bouchnak. 

Embracing genre to tell Arab stories 

“Dachra” is just one of a growing number of films from the MENA region to embrace the use of genre cinema, part of an emerging trend. 

Genre is a broad term that denotes films which utilize common themes or narratives such as thrillers, comedies, or science fiction. The term is increasingly used for fantasy and horror films as well. 

The growing recognition of, and interest in Arab genre cinema by international festivals and audiences alike is shattering stereotypes of what viewers can expect from Arab cinema. The use of genres by Arab filmmakers is not new, but has typically been overlooked by international audiences in the past. 

Foreign audiences have preferred Arab content in the form of social realism and hybrid documentaries. These productions, often rich in imagery of misery and destruction, promulgate the idea of a one-dimensional war-torn and problem-riddled Middle East. 

The use of genre in film, and in particular horror and fantasy, follow the trend of dystopian imagery that has emerged as a key component in contemporary Arab literature and art in the 21st century. With an increasing number of translations available, as well as original works in French and English, Arab authors have crafted a unique Arab dystopian genre. 

Constructed from Arab experiences, the genre deviates from its Western counterpart in a number of fundamental ways. Most notably, power structures used to repress find their basis in religion or bureaucracy rather than left or right political ideologies. 

Filmmakers also draw on local influences and histories when shaping characters and storylines in horror. In “Dachra,” Bouchnak invokes the practice of ritualistic sacrifice, as it is conceived in North Africa, to craft a story distinct from its Western counterparts.

Streaming increasing demand for Arab stories 

“Dachra” follows the move of the 2017 Tunisian film “La Belle et la Muete” (The Beauty and the Dog) onto Netflix, with the streaming platform continuing to increase engagement with content from the MENA region. 

Georges Schoucair of Abbout Productions in Lebanon credits the streaming giant with increasing demand for Arab genre content and “introducing audiences to non-English language films from the region.”

In May, Netflix announced an agreement with the Tunisian-Egyptian actress and producer Hend Sabry for an original Arabic-language series to be filmed in Egypt. The comedy-drama will be female-centred and is expected to be released in 2021. 

From June 11, the Saudi Arabian series “Whispers,” a dramatic-thriller, will be available to Netflix’s 183 million subscribers in 190 countries and 20 languages. 

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