Some 300 Malians and Ivorians left Tunisia on Saturday (March 4) on two planes repatriating sub-Saharan African nationals seeking to flee attacks and demonstrations of hostility after a violent charge by President Kaïs Saïed against migrants. in an irregular situation.
On February 21, Mr. Saïed claimed that the presence in Tunisia of "hordes" of illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa was a source of "violence and crimes" and part of a "criminal enterprise" aimed at "changing the demographic composition" of the country.
On Saturday, "133 people were boarded" including "25 women and 9 children as well as 25 students" on the plane which left Tunisia around 11 a.m., a diplomat told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Malian. Two hours later, another plane to repatriate 145 Ivorians took off from Tunis, according to the Ivorian ambassador to Tunisia, Ibrahim Sy Savané.
"Racist and hateful" speech
The presidential speech, condemned by NGOs as "racist and hateful", sparked an outcry in Tunisia, where people from sub-Saharan Africa have since reported an upsurge in attacks against them and have rushed by the dozens to their embassies to be repatriated.
In front of the Embassy of Mali, overloaded with suitcases and bundles, all said they were fleeing a climate heavy with threats. "The Tunisians don't like us, so we have to leave, but the Tunisians who are with us have to leave too," Bagresou Sego told AFP, before boarding a bus chartered by the embassy for Tunisia. airport.
Arrived four years ago, Abdrahmen Dombia interrupted his master's studies in the middle of the university year: "The situation is critical here, I'm going back because I'm not safe. Baril, a "legal migrant," said he was worried about those left behind. "We ask the president, Kais Saïed, with great respect to think of our brothers and treat them well," he explains.
According to the Ivorian government, 1,300 nationals have been registered in Tunisia for voluntary return. This is a significant part of the Ivorian community, which at about 7,000 people is the largest in sub-Saharan Africa in Tunisia, thanks to a visa-on-arrival exemption.
Some thirty Ivorian students, in a regular situation, are among the returnees. "They don't feel comfortable, some have been victims of racist acts, some are at the end of their studies, others have interrupted them," Michael Elie told AFP by telephone from the airport. Bio Vamet, President of the Association of Ivorian Students in Tunisia. “There are assaults almost every day, threats, or they are kicked out by their landlords, or physically assaulted,” he added.
"Outpouring of Hate"
Mostly from wealthy families, dozens of students from sub-Saharan Africa were enrolled in universities or training centers in Tunisia. Frightened, many have already left on their own, according to their representatives.
The Association of African Students and Trainees in Tunisia (AESAT) documented the February 26 assault of "four Ivorian female students leaving their university hostel" and "a Gabonese female student outside her home." The day after Mr. Saïed's speech, AESAT had instructed sub-Saharan students "to stay at home" and not to "go to class". This directive has been extended until at least March 6.
Guineans who returned on the very first repatriation flight on Wednesday told AFP of a "surge of hatred" after Mr. Saïed's speech.
Many of the 21,000 officially registered sub-Saharan Africans in Tunisia, most of them in an irregular situation, lost their jobs and homes overnight. Dozens were arrested during police checks, some are still in detention. Others have testified to NGOs about the existence of "militias" that hunt and rob them.
This situation has caused the influx of hundreds of people to their embassies to be repatriated. Others, even more vulnerable because they come from countries without an embassy in Tunis, have joined an improvised camp in front of the headquarters of the International Office for Migration (IOM), where they sleep in unsanitary conditions.
According to the Ivorian ambassador, Tunisia has promised to give up claiming penalties from people in an irregular situation (80 dinars, or 25 euros per month of illegal stay) which, for some, exceeded 1,000 euros.
