Migrants Trapped in Tunisia Amid Anti-Migration Policies and Rising Tensions

Tunis, Tunisia — For many migrants dreaming of Europe, the last stop is often an expanse of olive trees along North Africa’s Mediterranean coastline. However, in Tunisia, less than 100 miles (161 kilometers) from the Italian islands marking the European Union’s outermost borders, this dream has turned into a nightmare.

Under makeshift shelters of tarps, blankets, and ropes, men, women, and children await their chance to board iron boats operated by smugglers to reach Italy. Having fled war, poverty, climate change, or persecution, they now find themselves trapped in Tunisia—unable to reach Europe and lacking the funds to return home.

The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration estimates that 15,000 to 20,000 migrants are stranded in rural olive groves near Tunisia’s central coastline. This situation stems from stringent anti-migration policies enforced in Tunisia and throughout Europe, particularly by right-wing politicians expected to gain ground in the European Union’s parliamentary elections this week. Encampments have grown since last year as police expelled migrants from cities and intensified efforts to prevent Mediterranean crossings.

Mory Keita, a 16-year-old from a flood-prone suburb outside Abidjan, Ivory Coast, left home last September to join a friend in Tunisia. He arrived at an encampment known as Kilometer-19 earlier this year, notorious for clashes between migrant groups. “Machete brawls” frequently erupt between groups sorted by nationality, including Cameroonians, Ivorians, Guineans, and Sudanese. Keita expressed fear for his safety, noting that police raids aim to disband the camps rather than ensure protection.

Keita, passportless, paid a smuggler 400,000 Central African Francs ($661) to take him through Mali and Algeria. He dreams of resettling in France, finding work, and sending money back to his family. In March, he managed to board a boat bound for Europe, but the Tunisian coast guard intercepted it, arrested him, and returned him to the beach without processing.

With European funds and encouragement, Tunisia's coast guard has prevented more migrants from crossing the sea than ever before, stopping nearly 53,000 from January to May, according to Interior Minister Kamel Fekih. While fewer than 10,000 migrants successfully crossed from Tunisia to Italy this year—down from 23,000 in the same period last year—the logjam on Tunisia’s coastline has spurred anger and despair among both migrants and locals.

European leaders had brokered a 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) deal with Tunisia last summer, including 105 million euros ($114 million) for migration-related programs. NGOs have criticized the lack of transparency and information about these programs.

The visible presence of Black migrants in public spaces has periodically sparked xenophobic backlash from locals. President Kais Saied has fueled this sentiment, suggesting that migrants are part of a conspiracy to erase Tunisian identity. Police maintain a heavy presence in the olive-growing towns of El Amra and Jebeniana, often raiding encampments following complaints from local farmers.

The EU has expressed concern over Tunisia's democratic backslide, particularly after the arrest of journalists, migration activists, and attorneys last month. Despite this, European leaders, including Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, have praised the 2023 accord as a model for managing migration.

Majdi Karbai, a former Tunisian parliament member now in Italy, argues that the EU’s partnership with Tunisia has undermined democracy and human rights. He suggests that President Saied uses migrants as pawns to bolster his populist rhetoric and secure more European assistance. “Tunisia makes Europe believe it’s doing its job as it must,” Karbai said. “It’s good for Saied in terms of his supporters and for his speeches when he says Tunisia won’t be a country that resettles migrants.”