Two Tunisian teenagers seeking illegal emigration died after hiding in a refrigerated container on a ship en route to Europe, Civil Protection said on Tuesday.
“
Two people aged 16 to 17 died after infiltrating a container carrying vegetables and fruit on a ship heading to a European country
,” the director of Civil Protection for the Tunis region, Mounir Riabi.
The two minors were part of a group of four young people seeking to emigrate, who spent about eight hours in the cold "
before the ship's crew became aware of their presence and returned to the port of Tunis
."
The other two were hospitalized and are “
in stable condition
,” said Mounir Riabi, stressing that the group came from isolated regions in the interior of the country.
Last week, the national guard announced the disappearance at sea of around forty Tunisians who left Sfax (center-east) who were trying to reach Italy, the first coast of which is approximately 150 km away.
In 2023, 155,754 migrants landed irregularly in Italy (+50% over one year), Tunisians forming the second largest contingent (17,304) behind Guineans (18,204), according to the Italian Interior Ministry.
Economic and political difficulties in Tunisia
The Tunisian economy, penalized by Covid-19, the war in Ukraine and a devastating drought for its agriculture in 2023, is practically at a standstill with 1.3% growth in 2023 and very high youth unemployment (approximately 38%).
The country had reached an agreement with the IMF for a loan and the injection of 2 billion dollars into its economy, but the negotiations bogged down when President Kais Saied rejected the reforms recommended by the International Monetary Fund.
The Tunisian state makes a point of repaying its debts (80% of GDP) but lacks the liquidity to provide its population with enough basic products, which leads to recurring shortages of flour, sugar or rice.
In addition to these serious economic difficulties, Tunisia has been shaken by strong political tensions since President Saied's coup on July 25, 2021, accentuated in 2023 by the imprisonment of the main opponents.