Growing Racism in Tunisia

President Kais Saied has ben stirring hatred against migrants and black Tunisians.

London, 6 March 2023.

In February 2023 Tunisian President Kais Saied called the expulsion of African migrants in the country citing a conspiracy to “alter the country’s demographic structure”. This declaration has enabled a growing number of attacks targeting not only migrants but black Tunisians as well and has faced open condemnation from human rights organisations and the African Union alike calling the president’s words inflammatory hate speech. This development comes on the backfoot of ongoing economic and political crises that have been plaguing the country since 2011.  

Numerous Sub-Saharan Africans living in Tunisia have since applied for repatriation or have sought refuge to other countries citing fears of racially motivated attacks and increased arrests by authorities. There have also been reported spikes in evictions from landlords forcing many to live in makeshift encampments and depend on support from charities and local associations.  

Critics of the president are also claiming that his remarks were meant to distract from the recent arrests of opposition figures including Jaouhar Ben M’barek of the National Salvation Front in an escalating campaign targeting rivals of Kais Saied. Some also argue that migrants and black Tunisians are being used as scapegoats for the country’s economic situation. Regardless of the reasons, the impact of President Saied’s remarks has disproportionately made black Tunisians and migrants the target of racially motivated attacks. Some have drawn parallels between the President’s anti-migrant language and those of far-right political figures in Europe such as Eric Zemmour in France who was quoted praising Kais Saied’s actions and called on France to employ similar measures in cracking down on immigration. 

The current situation for migrants and black Tunisians is becoming more dire though there appears to be some silver lining when it comes to public opinion. Since Saied’s comments many Tunisians have come out to voice their opposition to the ongoing crackdown in protests on February 26th. Figures also point to Tunisia having the most racially conscious population in the Arab world with 80% of respondents recognising racism as a serious issue in the country, potentially leading to further actions should the government continue their approach.