This project is a deep dive into the unseen Tunis. A unique introspection into marginal spaces in Tunisia today, 10 […]
Themes 1041
Innawaation: Malek Khemiri presents Black Label
No more than it is appropriate to go through Malek Khemiri’s photographs at a run, one should not look for a practice of reporting in Black Babel. His approach, subject to the authority of current events, nonetheless tends to go beyond them. These images taken between January and February 2021, would they be more than small pebbles left behind, snapshots of memory? From that winter, when the pandemic was in full swing, we will have kept the memory of corseted nights, sucked in until noon by the clamor of the riots whose day would prolong the echo.
Innawaation: Empire & WMD present Gloub Faydha
« Gloub Faydha », a rap song created within the Bab El Beat project, is a cry of revolt against the established political class and a call for resistance against police repression. The clip alternates between the fictional universe reflected in the song’s lyrics and Nawaat’s video coverage of protests. In form, these videos match the music’s accelerated tempo and hard core percussion. In substance, they illustrate the song’s theme and lyrics.
Innawaation: Callum Francis Hugh presents « Hors-Réseaux »
Far beyond the destructive influence of social media, 4G and « catch all » algorithms, who and where are the individuals living outside the echo chamber that is today’s media landscape? Is their existence « off-the-grid » by obligation, or by choice? To answer this, Callum set out with his camera into the Saharan desert, where he met a family of nomads, the Raabia. In this arid zone of southwest Tunisia, transhumance is the core of existence for the Raabia, whose cross-desert migrations to graze their herds are dictated by the changing of the seasons. While borders may be of little concern to this family, climate change has begun to take its toll on daily life, threatening their very survival.
Innawaation: Haithem Sakouhi presents « Syndrome de Tunis »
Le syndrome de Tunis (Tunis syndrome) is an urban symphony which tells the story of an anonymous photographer whose fascination with his city becomes an obsession. A docu-drama that sheds light on the current condition of colonial architecture in Tunisia’s capital city.
Innawaation: Rym Amami presents Phaza 907 B
« Nuts », Rym Amami & Ghazi Frini, are two oleaginous adventurers who spent years of their lives in vitro, inside jars belonging to Arbi the « 7ammas » [corner store owner]. As they carefully planned their escape, the two nuts made themselves very tiny in order to avoid being snatched up, and spent hours smoking Camel cigarettes and digging a tunnel with the help of a wooden spoon borrowed from a « President » ice cream.
Mr. President, we are the owners of Tunisia!
On July 4th, when we saw the first draft of the new constitution, I exonerated President Saied for such a calamity, putting the sole responsibility on the professors of constitutional law he had chosen. They were supposed to be the sources and the guarantors of the new constitution wanted by the head of state. After all, he had made us believe that he had entrusted them with the solemn mission of writing a “sacred” civil text that would guarantee Tunisia’s passage into an era of dignity and decency, in total rupture with ten years of catastrophic governance carried out by scavengers of politics, of all persuasions.
President Saied’s draft of the Constitution: Falsehood and misperception
After a fake coup d’état that was justified by its supposed constitutionality, a fake national consultation which failed to mobilize even a fourth of his voters in 2019, a fake national dialogue which merely featured a chorus of yes-men, Kais Saied has made haste to hatch out a fake constitution. The president submitted the draft just 25 days before a referendum in which voters are invited to approve or reject this fundamental text.
Access to health care: It’s sink or swim for migrants in Tunisia
Tunisia is home to an ever-growing migrant population. And yet many migrants remain in an irregular situation. In the absence of a complete legal framework for refugees and asylum seekers, access to health services for this heterogeneous community is not only inadequate, but in some cases even non-existent. For certain migrants, their inability to seek proper treatment is a disadvantage with potentially fatal consequences.
Innawaation: 5th Call for projects – creative media projects incubator
Innawaation is a creative media projects incubator structured around a series of residencies and events. These collaborations will take place during sessions that span 3 to 6 months of work.
External debt: Tunisia falls back on « facility »
« Dire » is the word that IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice used to describe Tunisia’s economic and financial situation. During an online press conference on May 19, Rice urged the Tunisian government to pursue a reform program as a way out of its current impasse. But is a debt-fuelled solution the only way out? Several NGOs do not believe so, and propose alternative solutions to pull the country out of the crisis.
Women’s prisons in Tunisia: punishment without rehabilitation
3.2% of Tunisia’s incarcerated population are women. Asma is one of them. In an interview with Nawaat, Asma opens up about the appalling conditions inside women’s prisons. For many inmates, violence, whether socio-economic or psychological, is a fact of their past and present. A study by Beity and Lawyers Without Borders sheds light on their experience in prison and beyond.
Water scarcity in Tunisia: the threat of food insecurity
Farmers have been ruined, lands abandoned. Agricultural zones that were still flourishing just five years ago have since dried up. Water scarcity caused by climate change and rising temperatures has a direct impact to bear on Tunisia’s food security—far more than the conflict in Ukraine. Report.
Police Impunity & Soccer: Tunisia’s Ultras in the line of fire
« The Omar Laâbidi case has been pushed back to center stage thanks to the « Learn to swim » campaign, and to the efforts of civil society and “Ultras” (groups of soccer team supporters). This has roused the anger of Tunisia’s security apparatus, inciting its recourse to intimidation », says one activist. In the midst of this highly charged atmosphere, police officers are responding through the blows of their batons.
Mitigating A Killing: Shireen Abu Aqleh’s Death in Western Media
The name Shireen Abu Aqleh has tragically made international headlines in the past week. A renowned Palestinian journalist, Shireen was executed by the Israeli military while covering one of their numerous assaults on the Jenin refugee camp in the colonized West Bank.
Ensuring blue growth for North Africa’s blue gold
From freshwater fisheries in the great rift lakes to tuna fisheries in the waters around North Africa, for many African states, fisheries represent a substantial contribution to GDP. Due to imperfect knowledge of fish biology, incomplete fisheries data, natural variabilities and the inherent difficulties in using models to count fish in a population, the adoption of a different approach called “harvest strategies” or “management procedures” is becoming the latest innovation in fisheries management, and a reliable way for North African countries to continue to generate this blue growth value for decades to come.
Amendment of Tunisia’s elections authority law: outstanding independence!
Several months before the referendum, Kais Saied has issued a decree-law to change the composition of the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) council. Members of the authority responsible for supervising elections will now be appointed by presidential decree. The timing of this amendment has prompted divergent opinions. Is the ISIE’s independence no more?
Tunisia’s secondhand clothes market, barometer of citizen purchasing power
The Tunisian market for secondhand clothing, known as « fripe », emerged after the second world war. The industry has since become ingrained in the country’s socioeconomic fabric, anchored in consumer habits and constituting a livelihood for more than 200 thousand individuals. But the sector is facing an unprecedented crisis.
