Mobilizations of Tunisian mothers against European borders

Mobilizations of Tunisian mothers against European borders

Corina Tulbure, journalist and researcher on migration and racism.
Photos: Terre pour tous

Several Tunisian organizations led by Tunisian mothers have initiated a broad mobilization since 2011 to find Tunisian people who have disappeared on their way to Europe and denounce European migration policies. Terre pour tous is one of the mobilized organizations in search of the missing youth and brings together dozens of families who have lost their children.

Its coordinator, Imed Soltani, has also lost relatives in their journey across the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to documenting disappearances in the Mediterranean and seeking accountability, work is being done in Tunisia with the files of those who have reached Europe and disappeared on European territory without their families hearing from them.

Since 2011, mothers searching for their children, immersed in a collective mourning, have staged several demonstrations, both in front of Tunisian organizations and European embassies in Tunis. Despite these mobilizations, as of today, there is no coordination between European countries and Tunisia for the identification of the victims of the borders and the search for the missing people. Furthermore, when relatives try to travel to European countries for DNA tests and to look for their children, their visas are systematically denied.

 

 

Lawsuits and evidence have been presented to the courts of Tunisia, Italy, and the International Criminal Court demanding clarification of the truth about the disappearances of Tunisian youth. From Terre pour tous the case was presented to the Parliament of Catalonia and the Congress of Deputies in Madrid in 2012. And in 2014, Terre pour tous joined the “March for Dignity”, a walk from Strasbourg to Brussels, with other organizations in defense of the right to mobility. In 2019, the organization presented the files of missing youth to the European Parliament.

From the same organizations, since 2021 and with the tightening of the migration policies in Tunisia and the repeated raids against sub-Saharan migrants arriving in Tunisia and deportations to the desert, groups of mothers do grassroot work to help people arriving in Tunisia. Not only is there silence from the authorities regarding disappearances, but they also face dangers for helping other migrants who arrive in Tunisia. Current migration policies and the outsourcing of borders not only cause the suffering of migrants but also divide communities in Tunisia.