What’s behind the violent racist attacks in Tunisia?

The Take examines the rise of racial tensions in Tunisia.

A woman carries a banner, which reads: "Feminist, Tunisian, African. We are all men and women immigrants", during a protest after Tunisian President Kais Saied ordered security forces to stop all illegal migration and expel all undocumented migrants, in Tunis, Tunisia February 25, 2023.
A woman carries a banner, which reads: 'Feminist, Tunisian, African. We are all men and women immigrants', during a protest after Tunisian President Kais Saied ordered security forces to stop all illegal migration and expel all undocumented migrants, in Tunis, Tunisia, February 25, 2023 [Jihed Abidellaoui/Reuters]

The wave of racist violence sweeping Tunisia is unlike anything in recent memory. The attacks follow a speech by Tunisia’s President Kais Saied accusing African migrants of conspiring to make Tunisia more African and less Arab. This is the latest in a string of authoritarian moves by the president, and it has protesters back out in the street. But what will happen to the victims of this racism in the meantime?

In this episode: 

  • Alpha Turay, a refugee from Sierra Leone living in Tunisia
  • Fadil Aliriza (@FadilAliriza), founder and editor-in-chief of @meshkaltn

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Amy Walters with Chloe K. Li and our host, Malika Bilal. Miranda Lin fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Andy Greiner and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers. 

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

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Source: Al Jazeera