Wayne Lumbasi
Refugees and migrants in Tunisia are facing alarming levels of abuse and neglect as authorities intensify efforts to control irregular migration across the Mediterranean. Accounts from survivors and humanitarian organizations reveal a pattern of violence, discrimination and forced displacement that has left thousands in peril.
Across several regions, migrants, many from sub Saharan Africa, have been detained without due process and transported to remote desert areas near the borders with Libya and Algeria. Witnesses describe being abandoned without food, water or shelter, with some forced to walk for days in scorching heat. Aid groups report deaths from dehydration and exhaustion, calling the expulsions a violation of international law.
The sea offers no safer route. Migrants attempting to cross to Europe often face dangerous interceptions by the Tunisian coastguard. Survivors recount their boats being rammed or blocked, causing panic and capsizing. Dozens have drowned in recent months, showing the deadly risks faced by those desperate to flee.
Racial discrimination has also deepened the crisis. Migrants, particularly Black Africans, speak of constant harassment, eviction and assault. Many say they are targeted because of their skin color, living in fear both of violence from the public and arrest by authorities. The growing hostility has forced many into hiding, cutting them off from basic aid and medical care.
International observers have voiced concern that Tunisia’s migration control measures are being supported through external funding without adequate human rights guarantees. Such cooperation, they warn, risks reinforcing abuses rather than preventing them. Humanitarian agencies continue to call for transparency, accountability and urgent protection for those stranded.
Local aid workers say their efforts to provide assistance are increasingly restricted, with some facing questioning or detention. The shrinking space for humanitarian action has left countless people without support even as conditions worsen.
The situation has become a test of international resolve to uphold the rights and dignity of refugees. For thousands trapped between closed borders and fear of persecution, Tunisia has become a place of survival rather than safety, and their suffering calls for immediate global attention and action.
PREVIOUS REPORTS
E.U LABELS EGYPT, MOROCCO & TUNISIA AS SAFE FOR MIGRANT RETURNS, SPARKING RIGHTS BACKLASH
AFRICAN MIGRANTS EXPELLED FROM SFAX CENTRE, TUNISIA
RACIAL ATTACKS RISE IN TUNISIA, AFRICAN MIGRANTS APPEAL FOR HELP
