The harsh treatment of undocumented migrants in Tunisia is a condemnation of a pact made with an authoritarian government.
Last month’s Venice film festival praised “Me, Captain,” a fictional portrayal of African migrants seeking Europe. The movie depicts two Senegalese teenagers facing violence, extortion, detention, and forced labor in North Africa, earning it a Silver Lion and standing ovations.
While the film is heart-wrenching, Guardian reports from Tunisia reveal a grimmer reality, with Europe deeply complicit. In July, the European Union signed an agreement offering financial support to Tunisia’s authoritarian leader, Kais Saied, in exchange for suppressing irregular migrants attempting the Mediterranean crossing to Italy. Sub-Saharan African migrants have faced brutal pushbacks, abuse, and intimidation.
Over 4,000 people have been detained and left in desolate desert areas along Tunisia’s borders with Libya and Algeria, some suffering beatings and robbery by border guards, and many perishing from thirst. The Guardian uncovered the story of a Cameroonian asylum seeker who recognized a viral photo of a mother and daughter found dead in the desert, a tragically common sight.
This cruelty towards vulnerable individuals is not new; in Libya, EU-sponsored cooperation led to rape, beatings, extortion, and expulsions. Saied’s rhetoric fueled racist hostility towards black migrants. Yet, European leaders like Ursula von der Leyen, Giorgia Meloni, and Mark Rutte employ him as a border enforcer, while Rishi Sunak and Meloni endorsed such deals at a European summit. An agreement with Egypt may follow.
This complicity in human rights abuses under the guise of border security betrays European values. Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, emphasized the need for democracy, human rights, and cooperation in these agreements.
The migration challenge of the 21st century threatens European politics’ moral fabric. A fortress mentality, unthinkable a few years ago, prevails as geopolitical instability, global inequality, and the climate crisis drive mass migration. While it presents challenges, dilemmas, and opportunities for an aging continent, a “whatever it takes” approach that allows desperate deaths in the desert is a scandal, not a solution.
