Tunisia signs agreement with the EU for migration control, despite violence against sub-Saharans

Welcome to Fragments of Africa, the account and analysis of the most outstanding events that have occurred in this continent during the last two weeks.

In this edition, together with the case of Tunisia, we explore the scandalous diversion of food aid in Ethiopiaat a time when millions of people are suffering from famine in the Tigray region.

We also moved to Senegal to do an assessment of the 11-year term of President Macky Salland finally, we examine the astonishing expansion of kiswahilia language that is on its way to becoming the lingua franca of the entire continent.

1) Tunisia assumes the role of guard of the European borders

After intense negotiations, the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, the leader of the extreme right in the Italian Council of Ministers, Giorgia Meloni, and the liberal-conservative Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, managed to overcome the hesitations and reluctance of the Tunisian president, Kais Said.

In an unexpected turn, the EU and Tunisia have signed an agreement described as a “strategic partnership”, covering key issues such as migration and the economy. Despite Said’s repeated assertions in recent months, in which he adamantly denied making his country the guardian of Europe’s borders, it appears that the European group has managed to make a convincing case.

Thus, Tunisia will become a migration processing point by reinforcing the surveillance of its borders, especially the maritime ones, beyond its territorial waters. The country will prevent the crossing of migrants who wish to reach European shores and will welcome those that Europe rejects, to manage their subsequent repatriation to their nations of origin.

NGOs defending the rights of migrants and refugees expressed their indignation at the agreement, especially considering the precarious living conditions of these populations in the North African country.

On two occasions this year, Tunisia has witnessed outbursts of racism and xenophobia directed against people of sub-Saharan origin.. In February, inflammatory remarks by the president unleashed an unprecedented wave of violence against the sub-Saharan African community.

The second episode of violence took place earlier this month in Sfax, a coastal city located less than 200 kilometers from the Italian coast and which is the main departure point for migrants seeking to reach Europe.

There, a Tunisian citizen was allegedly stabbed during an altercation with migrants, which has sparked days of violence against this population. Citizen groups formed, launching indiscriminate attacks against anyone of African origin found in the streets.

As a consequence, hundreds of people are now homeless, forced to live on the streets. Besides, a considerable number of individuals have been forcibly deported to the borders with Libya and Algeria, abandoned without access to food or water in the middle of the desert.

Despite the aforementioned events, the European Union has decided to go ahead with the signing of the pact with Tunisia. The bloc is now seeking to enter into negotiations for a similar deal with Morocco and Egypt.

2) Scandal over the diversion of food aid in Ethiopia: the humanitarian crisis worsens

The recent controversy related to the embezzlement of humanitarian aid in Ethiopia could have gone unnoticed, adding to other cases of corruption that undermine political and social life in different nations. However, this scandal has acquired an even more alarming dimension due to its magnitude and its impact on the population of Tigray, plunging it into a desperate situation of famine.

Last April, a team from USAID, the US government agency in charge of economic development and humanitarian aid in the world, discovered that wheat intended to feed 100,000 displaced people had been stolen and later trucked to be sold in local shops and markets.

According to reports in the French newspaper Le Monde, the United States assures that this diversion is being carried out with the complicity and approval of the Ethiopian authorities., with the purpose of providing food to the military and ex-combatants. In response, Washington and the World Food Program have suspended the distribution of that aid.

The Disaster Risk Management Commission has recorded 728 famine-related deaths in three areas since the distribution of food assistance was suspended. Aid workers could be forced to resume deliveries due to the desperate famine situation for the region’s inhabitants.

3) Macky Sall announces his no re-election: an analysis of his tenure as president

The Senegalese president, Macky Sall, surprised the country on July 3, by announcing his decision not to be a candidate in the February 25, 2024 elections. This determination, the result of long and thoughtful consideration, in his own words, it ended months of speculation and political uncertainty and provides an opportunity to assess his legacy after 11 years in power.

Since his election in 2012, Macky Sall has served two presidential terms. Before his arrival at the Executive in 2010, more than half of the population lived below the poverty line. Once he took office, the new head of state embarked on ambitious projects that sought to promote the development of the country, with the goal of turning it into a middle-income economy by 2035.

Nine years later, in 2019, the results became evident: Senegal has experienced remarkable progress in infrastructure. The capital, Dakar, has been transformed into a city that competes on an equal footing with other African metropolises. An airport, the new city of Diamniadio, as well as railway networks, highways and ports of strategic importance were inaugurated.

In addition, thanks to the implementation of solar farms, Sall has managed to double the electrical capacity of the country in seven years.

However, the president’s detractors accuse him of having increased the nation’s debt and not having effectively addressed the urgent needs of the population, especially in the areas of education and health. In addition, they point out that the rural areas have lagged behind urban areasand that the informal sector continues to be predominant, depriving the State of valuable fiscal resources.

As for democracy, President Sall’s record is checkered and down, notably the convictions of several of his political opponents, chief among them Ousmane Sonko. In February 2021, Sonko was accused of rape and death threats by a former massage parlor employee, which has had a huge impact on political life in Senegal over the past two years.

Ousmane Sonko’s supporters have denounced an alleged plot hatched by Sall to sideline their leader in the electoral contest towards the next presidential elections. On June 1, 2023, Sonko was sentenced to two years in prison for corruption of minors. The verdict was followed by acts of violence that resulted in the deaths of at least 23 people in two days, according to Amnesty International reports.

Internationally, Macky Sall’s career has been acclaimed. The president has played a prominent role as a mediator and has been a fervent defender of African interests, both in his leadership in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), where he has advocated for economic integration as a key in the fight against terrorism, as in his presidency of the African Union (AU), after achieving a diplomatic success in making the Union a permanent member of the G20.

4) Kiswahili experiences amazing growth and is close to becoming the lingua franca of the continent

July 7th is celebrated World Kiswahili Dayan opportunity to present the remarkable trajectory of this language spoken by almost 200 million people throughout the world, native to East Africa and also present in Central Africa.

With its adoption as a working language by the African Union, Kiswahili has taken significant steps towards its possible consolidation as a lingua franca or common language of the entire African continent. The prominent role it occupies today is due to a combination of political, economic, cultural and historical factors.

It was in the middle of the last century when Kiswahili established itself as a standard language, thanks to the establishment of a standardized written version and the creation of dictionaries, grammars and literature. This milestone allowed a significant expansion of Kiswahili, as explained by the American researcher and historian Morgan J. Robinson in her book ‘A Language for the world’, focused on the normalization of Kiswahili.

Furthermore, throughout the 20th century, Kiswahili was a language that accompanied and served as a tool in the struggles for emancipation. Especially notable is its role in anti-colonial struggles in East Africa, as well as its use by South African resistance fighters trained in Tanzania in the 1960s and 1970s. Some American civil rights activists even turned to the Kiswahili.

All of these factors, among others, have contributed to an increase in the number of Kiswahili speakers, as well as supporting its position as a potential pan-African language. However, some linguists express concern that the spread of Kiswahili could endanger linguistic diversity in East Africa.

Meanwhile, this language continues to gain followers and interest beyond the borders of the African continent. Recently, the vice president of Colombia proposed its inclusion in the school curriculum so that those who wish to learn it have the opportunity to do so.