North Africa 9

Sub-Saharan migrants in Tunisia: Marginalization of a replacement workforce

Some 57 thousand sub-Saharan migrants are currently living in Tunisia, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). To make ends meet, many of them take on precarious, underpaid jobs as builders, servers and agricultural workers. This demographic of foreign workers has replaced a Tunisian workforce that has shown itself reluctant to such economic activities. In the meantime, Tunisian legislation has failed to address what is becoming a dire socio-economic dilemma, as the absence of clear policy leaves free rein to all sorts of abuses against migrant workers.

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.

Les « Foutouhat » qataries en Afrique du Nord

La montée en puissance du Qatar sur la scène politique arabe n’est plus à démontrer. Le minuscule émirat dont la population ne dépasse pas celle d’un quartier du Caire ou de Bombay est sur tous les fronts. Après avoir pris part à la répression de la révolte bahreïnie, il a été le seul pays arabe à apporter un soutien militaire et matériel à l’insurrection contre Kadhafi. Après avoir proposé sa médiation au Yémen, donné sa bénédiction à la Tunisie de Ghannouchi, opéré un rapprochement avec les Frères musulmans d’Egypte, le voilà qui, aujourd’hui, conduit l’orchestre dans la partition syrienne et, selon certaines sources, préparerait un changement en Algérie ?

North Africa: are political websites more likely to get hacked?

Political opposition websites in North African countries, particularly in Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania, are becoming a primary target of hackers. This new phenomenon of defacing opposition and dissident websites emerged first in Tunisia, where at least 14 websites and blogs were targeted between 2007 and 2008, and seems to be spreading across the region as a result of the attempt to muzzle free […]