Women in black veils held handkerchiefs in their hands. Chairs were scattered in front of the houses, for visitors who had come to offer their condolences. In Bouhajla, in the center of Tunisia, everything reflected the mourning of families who had been waiting days for the remains of their loved ones, who disappeared when an illegal boat sank, on the night of September 6 to 7, off the coast of Chebba in the east of the country.
In this agricultural town of 8,000 people, where the poverty rate of 32% is double the national average, almost every household in the El-Maki neighborhood was affected by the tragedy which left 13 dead, according to a provisional toll. Seven passengers had not yet been found. Rawiya Dhifaoui still cannot believe the death of her younger brother, 21-year-old Mohamed Dhifaoui, whose body was recovered from the water. On that Friday, September 16, she recalled with sadness that he should have been celebrating his birthday the following day.
"He was working in air conditioning repairs. He was struggling to make a living because he had no fixed contract, but we didn't expect him to go like that," she said. Mohamed often talked to her about his desire to leave; she advised him to go to the Gulf countries. "But he wanted to have papers and, like many others, he was influenced by social media. Here everyone leaves for Europe and advertises it on Facebook, from the moment they depart to the moment they arrive," she said.
'The self-smuggler'
According to the teacher, clandestine migration has become commonplace and affects all age groups and backgrounds. In the neighborhood, two high school girls left just after they graduated, in June. A few days after the news of the shipwreck, an entire family with four children attempted a crossing to have one of the sons, who is disabled, treated abroad.
The phenomenon has grown in recent months in the country. Since the beginning of the year, 13,700 Tunisian migrants have reached the Italian coast, up 18% year-on-year according to a September report by the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), an NGO. The national navy prevented the departures of nearly 23,217 would-be exiles.
Unemployment is no longer the only cause of departure among young people, as explained by researcher Wael Garnaoui, author of the book Harga et Désir d'Occident ("Harqa and Western desire"). "The deterioration of the economic situation and people's inability to see a future for themselves, with the country's political instability, drives them to flee, with every socio-professional level affected. These now include people with jobs, women, and even families with children," wrote Mr. Garnaoui.
While some, as in the case of the Bouhajla migrants, still use networks of people smugglers, young people in the coastal regions are now going it alone to avoid the scams and dangers of an overcrowded boat, according to expert Matthew Herbert, author of several reports on migration for the NGO Global Initiative. "This is what we might call the 'self-smuggler'. A young person who, with a group of friends, will buy a boat, or rent it, find the engine, the gasoline and leave with a GPS to try to reach the Italian coast," he said. He added that the new trend, observed since the pandemic, is contributing, along with social media, to "demystifying the crossing. The taboo or shameful side of leaving illegally is disappearing. It has now become a collective and accepted undertaking."
'Everything's gone up so much'
In Bouhajla, migration is sometimes a matter of life and death, "there isn't a single family that doesn't talk about it," said Ms. Dhifaoui. In August, two young people committed suicide after their parents refused to give them the money needed to pay for an illegal crossing. Achref Selmi, on the other hand, narrowly escaped the shipwreck on September 6. The 28-year-old had decided to leave with his fiancée after six years of unsuccessful job applications in the security sector. "I tried everything but they put me on the waiting list every time," he said. He had already left illegally earlier in the year. He was arrested on arrival in Italy and deported.
His legs were damaged by the time spent in the water and he fearfully remembered the hours spent at sea, "the cries of those who didn't have life jackets, the fear of someone drowning me in a fit of panic." He recounted his trauma in detail, under the appalled gaze of his parents. "He had only told his mother about his plans, but I understand him. Even if he helped me out working at the café that I run, he wouldn't earn enough to get married or to start a family. Everything's gone up so much," said his father, Abderrazak Ben Aoun Selmi.
His sister's husband, 42 years old and a father of two, had taken the same boat. In recent times, his daily jobs on building sites and at markets were not enough for him to make ends meet. His body was still missing.
Everything is increasing
The country, in a recession since the pandemic, must now deal with inflation of more than 8%, fueled by the repercussions of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Everything is increasing: housing prices (up 8% in one year) and food prices, as well as fuel, whose rates have already increased four times since the beginning of the year.
The number of accompanied and unaccompanied minors is also increasing each year. By 2021, it had quadrupled from 2017, according to FTDES. Families rely on the fact that minors cannot be deported before they turn 18, according to Mr. Garnaoui. "For teenagers who come to France, there is the hope that they can stabilize their situation once they are there, but the reality is that they are then taken care of by Child Welfare and cannot work or integrate into society," said the researcher, who is also a clinical psychologist and has treated many Tunisian minors in France.
Economic and social stagnation is one of the sore points for Tunisian President Kais Saied, who assumed full power in July 2021. The double blow of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine has put the country's finances in jeopardy and the government is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to try to avoid bankruptcy. In addition to the lack of economic prospects, the political situation also remains unclear. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for December 17, on the basis of a controversial electoral law introduced by the president. But several political parties have already announced their intention to boycott the vote.
In the meantime, "as with every crisis, migration movements are intensifying," said Mr. Garnaoui, who believes that the loss of confidence is also amplified by the mass departure of elites. "When Tunisians see that doctors and engineers have been leaving legally for years and that basic infrastructure is deteriorating, they no longer believe the situation will improve and they want to follow suit." Between 2015 and 2020, more than 39,000 engineers and nearly 3,000 doctors left the country legally, to work abroad.