President Kais Saied of Tunisia spoke at a National Security Council meeting on February 21 and denounced illegal migration from sub-Saharan Africa, calling it a plot to obliterate the nation’s identity.
The unstated objective of the repeated waves of illegal immigration, according to him, is to portray Tunisia as a totally African nation that is unconnected to the Arab and Islamic states. Sub-Saharan African illegal immigrants continue to arrive in droves, bringing with them all the associated violence, criminality, and despicable behaviors.
Two days later, the 65-year-old leader rejected accusations from civil rights organizations that his hateful remarks were racist. He said those who accused him of racism “want division and discord and seek to damage our relations with our brothers” and demanded that Tunisia’s interior minister crack down on irregular migration.
He did not, however, retract his unfounded assertion that migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are coming to Tunisia in an effort to change the country’s demographics.
Just 21,000 Black African migrants are thought to be present in Tunisia at the moment, including those without the necessary papers. They don’t have nearly enough people, given Tunisia’s population of 12 million, to change the demographics of the country. Saied plainly made up the complex scheme to sever Tunisia’s “affiliation to the Arab and Islamic nations.”
Nevertheless, the president’s inciting comments incited a wave of prejudice and violence in Tunisia towards people from sub-Saharan Africa.
Numerous people were severely beaten, fired from their jobs, and subjected to arbitrary arrests and home evictions.
A 22-year-old Cameroonian asylum seeker was hospitalized after being stabbed in the chest and left for dead by six Tunisian men who shouted, “Go back home, you gang of Blacks, we don’t want you here,” according to Amnesty International. Despite presenting her school records, the police unjustly detained and violently beat a different woman, a Burkinabe student.
A university student who was voluntarily evacuated to Guinea told the AFP news agency that “Black people were sought out, chased, raped, and their homes looted by Tunisians”
Numerous migrant families who were made homeless as a result of Saied’s crackdown in Tunis set up camp outside the International Organization for Migration’s headquarters. Widespread disapproval was also generated by the president’s racial agitation.
Black Lives Matter signs in hand, Tunisian protestors flocked to the streets on February 25 to oppose racism and proclaim their African identity.
The same day, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the chair of the African Union Commission, sharply denounced the “shocking statement issued by Tunisian authorities targeting fellow Africans” and pleaded with Tunis “to refrain from racialized hate speech.”
The Tunisian General Labour Union subsequently declared that it will protect “the rights of migrants, regardless of their nationality or the color of their skin,” and the World Bank later put Tunisia’s Country Partnership Framework on hold.
In response to mounting criticism, Saied made an effort to “clarify” his statements on March 8 when he met with Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo.
He asserted that his statements had been “maliciously interpreted,” and he “blatantly denied” being racist. “I am proud to be African,” I said. Embalo would naturally pretend to be one of us when we met with him because he is also the current head of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
While most members of the international world were unconvinced by Saied’s “clarification” of his remarks, he had already succeeded in winning one European lawmaker over to his racist, anti-immigration agenda.
A news article about Saied’s remarks was published on Twitter by French far-right politician Eric Zemmour, who is well-known for his anti-immigration and anti-Islamic beliefs. Zemmour wrote: “The Maghreb countries themselves are starting to raise the alarm in the face of the spike in migration. In this instance, Tunisia wants to act quickly to defend its citizens. Why do we need to wait to combat the Great Replacement?
Zemmour’s reference to the “great replacement” in reference to Saied’s remarks was understandable, as Saied’s allegations regarding the alleged intention of African migrants to change Tunisia’s demographic make-up do indeed fit in well with the well-known white supremacist conspiracy theory that falsely claims that white people are being replaced and losing their status in society as a result of a plot to increase non-white immigration.
In this situation, one could say that Saied is bringing colonial-era race-based ideas and artificial hierarchies to Africa by appropriating right-wing populist language from the extreme right of the West.
I have always considered myself incredibly fortunate to be largely shielded from the white supremacist violence and hatred that are so common in Europe and the US as a Black African who lives in Africa.
I never would have thought that an African president would use a white nationalist hoax that originated in Europe to target Black Africans in Tunisia in order to earn easy political points.
I have very good memories of how Africans of all races, socioeconomic statuses, and countries backed Morocco at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup last December.
Millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa excitedly welcomed the Atlas Lions’ incredible and unparalleled achievement when they became the first Arab and African team to get to the semifinals of a FIFA World Cup competition.
Morocco’s coach, Walid Regragui, paid tribute to Africa after his team fell to France in the semi-finals, saying, “We were representing our country and our continent.”
His real and laudable statements underlined what everyone already knew: The Atlas Lions did it for all of Africa, not only for Morocco and the Arab world.
Africans on the entire continent had a sense of pride, which must be mentioned extended beyond the soccer field.
A post-colonial and post-racial Africa came together and rejoiced as one giant, diversified family, perhaps for the first time in history.
Saied is now attempting to undermine that unity just three months after Qatar 2022 in an effort to draw attention away from the numerous shortcomings of his totalitarian rule.
He took executive control of the nation in July 2021, suspended the legislature, removed the prime minister, and destroyed independent institutions. He used extraordinary force in his crackdown on the political opposition and his other detractors, drawing ire from many of Tunisia’s international allies. In addition to destroying Tunisia’s fledgling democracy and its reputation abroad since taking nearly unlimited control, he also failed to revive the country’s economy and address the numerous socioeconomic issues that its citizens were suffering.
He now appears to be making undocumented Black African migrants the scapegoat for all of his mistakes while sacrificing African solidarity and unity in the process.
The African Union strongly and promptly condemned Saied’s divisive remarks and postponed a meeting that was scheduled to take place in Tunis in March indefinitely in response to the subsequent government crackdown and racist attacks against people from sub-Saharan Africa.
Even while these steps were timely and good, they might not be sufficient to stop Saied from stirring up racial conflict and sowing discord with Tunisia’s sub-Saharan neighbors while pretending to combat irregular migration.
It must thus be censured appropriately and expelled from the organization, at least until Saied officially abandons the “great replacement” notion and stops inciting fear towards immigrants and Black Africans.
The AU needs to take action to defend Africa against Saied-style populist nationalism and bigotry. The Pan-African objective of 2063 will not succeed if there is no unity. It’s time for the AU to show its power and subdue African politicians who try to split us along racial lines.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Advert Africa’s editorial stance.
- Tafi Mhaka Social and political commentator Mhaka has a BA Honours degree from the University of Cape Town and works in the communications industry.
