TUNISIA: Sub-Saharan students living in Tunisia say they face regular racist abuse and violence, and urge the interior ministry to intervene

Record ID: 348630

  • Title: TUNISIA: Sub-Saharan students living in Tunisia say they face regular racist abuse and violence, and urge the interior ministry to intervene
  • Date: 17th October 2013
  • Summary: TUNIS, TUNISIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) CAMEROONIAN STUDENT, LIONEL FREDDIE FONE, TALKING TO FRIENDS OUTSIDE UNIVERSITY FONE TALKING FONE WITH FRIENDS MORE OF FONE TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (French) CAMEROONIAN STUDENT, LIONEL FREDDIE FONE, SAYING: "That day I took the tube. I was verbally abused. Some guys said in Arabic "Negro" and "guera guera". I did not understand what that
  • Embargoed: 1st November 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Tunisia
  • Country: Tunisia
  • Topics: International Relations,Education,Politics,People
  • Reuters ID: LVA99HUZY86TZPVIFMJCMIWEJURL
  • Story Text: Tunisian universities are a big draw for African students from French-speaking countries.
    But many students say racist abuse is rampant.
    Lionel Freddie Fone, a networks and telecommunication student from Cameroon, told of his shock when he encountered verbal abuse.
    "That day I took the tube. I was verbally abused. Some guys said in Arabic "Negro" and "guera guera". I did not understand what that meant but when I asked my friends what "guera guera" meant, they explained that it means monkey. I was shocked," Fone said.
    One female student, who did not wish to be named, said she had been in the country for four years, but after living in a place which did not feel like home, she was desperate to leave.
    The African Students and Interns Association of Tunisia (AESAT), which estimates there are about 6,000 students from Sub-Saharan countries in Tunisia, organised a news conference recently to highlight the students' concerns.
    AESAT president Toure Blamassi said the students had been getting a cold response from their host country.
    "He (Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki) was in Mali recently where he was warmly welcomed by African people. In return for that warmth, what do we get? In return, African students are facing a frosty response, an unimaginably frosty response," said Blamassi, who is from Ivory Coast.
    Blamassi recently wrote to President Moncef Marzouki, detailing the problems being faced by students from sub-Saharan countries.
    He also met police authorities.
    "We made them aware of our problems. Because the interior ministry did not reply to our request for a meeting. We told them that some of us are facing violence and investigations are blocked. We noted cases of attempted rape for which the complaints have not been followed up," Blamassi told the news conference.
    Students say it's hard for them to settle down for studies because of the tight deadlines. Once they arrive in Tunis, they are expected to finish the registration process and the residency card procedure in less than a week. Or they have to pay a tax of about 10 euros a week. Often, the procedure can take up to six months.
    Interior ministry spokesman Mohamed Aroui, however, said Tunisia was not a racist country, and promised to look into the complaints.
    "We promise them to do the best to ease their administrative steps, to facilitate the housing, their transport. Tunisia has never been a racist state nor a state where we face racism. It's a country open to all religions and open for all nationalities and communities," Aroui told Reuters.
    AESAT says African students are a good opportunity for the Tunisian economy, with each bringing around 5,000 euros a year.
    There are also concerns that the African Development Bank, which moved from Ivory Coast to Tunisia due to the civil war, is due to move back at the end of the year.
    The Bank had prompted many wealthy Africans to settle down in Tunis, but the students now worry about being left alone without their relatives.
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