Hajja Naima spends her day sitting on her bed, listening only to what is going on around her in her home among her family, without being able to move except with the help of her granddaughter. She has been in this position since the illness visited her, and she is now unable to walk, after she suffered from severe liver infections and lung cancer, and the matter developed into blockage of the veins in her eyes, which caused her to lose her sight completely, due to… Polluted gases emitted from the Tunisian chemical complex in Gabès (south-eastern Tunisia).
This situation, which has been reported by many visitors to Gabès Governorate in recent days, appears to be one of the most prominent situations that the residents of this state have been experiencing for at least more than three decades.
The condition of Hajja Naima, who is seventy years old, is not unique, because the extent of the injuries is more catastrophic. Cancer penetrates the walls and bodies, and destroys the green and dry bodies that used to enjoy health, well-being and tranquility. However, for about 20 years or more, the lives of many of them have turned into nightmares and suffering, and they have come to hospitals, doctors, and cemeteries more than they used to. On weddings, which turned into memories; Just a memory in their lives.
They were not able to confront the secretions of the chemical compound on their bodies, especially since this governorate does not have specialized clinics, nor equipped hospitals, nor doctors available day and night, and you see them forced to move with these health conditions to neighboring governorates, in Sfax, Kebili, and Tozeur, and some of them move to some coastal states, for treatment, medical follow-up, and periodic examinations.
Thus, thousands of citizens who live in the areas surrounding the chemical complex, most notably the Al-Salam Beach neighborhood, and the cities of Ghanoush and Bouchma, live in a catastrophic situation, no less disastrous than what the students of the Al-Salam Beach School, which is slightly adjacent to the complex, inhale on an almost daily basis.
The authorities are surprised at how the people of Gabès are protesting with such strength and determination?!
Toxic summer breezes
Gabès was known for the production of pomegranates, the high quality of dates and olives, the soft dawn summer breeze, and the severity of its people, who are known for the toughness of their fruit, but for their high morals. When you visit them, the people of Gabès make you feel very ashamed, and you turn among them into a spoiled person, as if you have known them for years. Everyone extends their hospitality and honor to you, and this is the nature of the “Qawabsiyah” among the people of the south. All the time, but today they meet you with tears, sadness, and a feeling of helplessness, mixed with a strong feeling of oppression.
Everything has changed in recent years. The dawn breezes have become a mist covering the sky of Gabes, and the pomegranate seeds have lost their redness, which gives them elegance, beauty and deliciousness. The taste of dates has become as if they were bitter wood, after they were hit by the gases emanating from the complex. They became frightening, as Hajja Naima says, to the point that it was as if you were eating something closer to stone than to dates, which had the taste of honey.
The people of Gabes sleep on those limited dawn breezes, due to the heat of the weather almost throughout the year, but they wake up to unpleasant odors emanating from the chemical complex at night and at dawn, which is the time for the release of gases from the polluted units, which spoils their sleep, so they jump out of their bed, in a state of panic, to find among the family members, a man, a woman, a young boy, or a young girl, who has entered He fell into a coma, and had to be transferred to the hospital urgently. The stillness of dawn and the tranquility of the night turned into states of hysteria and tension, and he panted towards the nearest health institution to receive initial treatment, before examinations and medical scrutiny, In some cases, they end up in graveyards.
Thus, the people of Gabès lost the taste of life in their city and villages, and their lives turned into hell. Therefore, they do not hesitate to point the finger of blame at the chemical complex, as their annual harvest includes cancer, infections, osteoporosis, and complex problems in the respiratory system, in addition to irritations, skin allergies, rashes, and the spread of asthma (chronic shortness of breath), especially among children and the elderly. Age.
Without a doubt, they blame the authorities, and those successive governments for about twenty years, at least, as they have satisfied the people of Gabès with promises and dreams, and made them hear various types of “revolutionary”, “radical”, and “authentic” decisions that will change their reality, and will return to their women, the elderly, and their children, the smile and joy of life.
But none of that was achieved, even if just a little.
A study, completed by the European Commission 7 years ago (2018), revealed that hundreds of tons of polluting gases such as sulfur dioxide, or what is known as “steam” and “ammoniac” are released annually, making more than 90% of air pollution in Gabès its main source, the chemical complex, which exposes the health of more than 190,000 residents of Gabès to continuous deterioration and “death.” “slow”…
The authorities ask why they go out to protest?!
Wasted marine wealth
The effects of chemical pollution did not only affect humans, but also affected the marine wealth and changed the color of the sea water and the soil of the shore of the Gulf of Gabes, which was described as the pearl of the sea among the types of Tunisian gulfs. Rather, the warmth of the water of the Sea of Gabes, especially in winter, prompted the fish of the Mediterranean to move to it, to lay their eggs in it, due to the diversity of its terrain and the multiplicity of herbs and sea creatures in it.
“Phosphogypsum” – this scourge that has affected the livelihood of “Gabès” – has changed the pattern of the sea and its components, and of the approximately 280 species of fish that used to roam in the Gulf of Gabes, the matter is now limited to only 75 species, according to estimates by the “Tunisian Society for Environment and Nature in Gabès”, which recently published its statistics, following specialized studies.
The various fishes in the Gulf of Gabes have become extinct, the shells and pearls that used to appear meters away from the shore have withdrawn, and the sea water has turned black after being mixed with the “phosphogypsum” substance that was poured into it about 25 years ago. The fishermen’s journey now extends for kilometers, after a few minutes were enough to catch what they could without much difficulty.
Marine wealth was not the only one affected by “phosphogypsum” and polluting gas emissions. Many farmers in Gabès were forced to sell their agricultural lands, after the severe damage to their annual crops, and the destruction of their products, in light of the damage to the soil from the toxins of the substances emitted from the compound, and its direct impact on crops, especially irrigated ones, which made food products carcinogenic, Partially or completely, according to a study by the European Commission and reports of some specialized associations in the Gabes region.
When crops are affected and poisoned, one cannot talk about a food basket in the governorate of Gabès, which now imports some food products from neighboring governorates, especially vegetables and grains, while fish and meat have become wishes of “Al-Qabèsiyah.”
President Saied’s government criticizes the demands of the “Al-Qawabsiyah”, but rather declares the opposite of what they are waiting for!
Three exciting decisions
At a time when residents near the complex demanded the implementation of the decision to dismantle the industrial units causing pollution, reduce the volume of industrial activity in the area, and adopt an environmental approach to the region, Kais Saied’s government took three decisions of great danger:
1- Increasing the productivity of the chemical complex in support of its competitiveness at the international level, as if the cries and cries of the people of Gabès had not reached the government work team that took this decision.
2- Withdrawing “phosphogypsum” from the list of hazardous wastes, and even valorizing it, that is, considering it an important product on the lists of new industries, even though the state has included it on the list of hazardous materials since the year 2000. In fact, the government’s decision came in contradiction to the statement of the Tunisian President, Kais Saied, on March 4, 2025, when he stressed the necessity of finding a final solution for phosphogypsum, indicating the possibility of exploiting it without any negative impact on The environment… as if the state was running with two heads: a president who decides, and a government that takes measures completely contradictory to what he expressed in his statement when meeting the Minister of Industry.
The people responded to the decision to remove “phosphogypsum” from the list of dangerous materials with a reaction of rejection, and this was considered “a repudiation by the state of the decision to dismantle the polluted units,” issued in June 2017. Rather, the slogans raised by the people during their protest (May 2017) tended to describe the decision to value “phosphogypsum” as “a whitewash of the crimes of the complex and the government.” It violates the rights of citizens (the right to a healthy environment).”
Despite all this, phosphogypsum continued to be poured into the sea without stopping. In this context, the European Commission study indicates that phosphogypsum is the main pollutant of the sea in Gabès, as the quantities poured into the Gulf of Gabès exceed 5 million tons annually.
An African Development Bank document also revealed an audit evaluation conducted by the bank, issued last June, that among the most prominent violations was the recording of air pollutant emissions, including (ammoniac), (nitrogen oxides), (sulfur dioxide), and (O₂N gas), in addition to unpleasant odors.
Some experts and many unions in Gabes are talking about the existence of a ready study to move the “Chemical Complex” to the “Manzel Al Habib” area in the south, away from the population. However, the political will does not seem ready to give permission for this, given the complex’s complex relationship with the rest of the industries related to phosphates and specific types of chemical fertilizers and others, and the fear that Tunisia’s annual production of “phosphogypsum”, which arrives according to According to Tunisian Ministry of Industry statistics, 4.5 million tons, with a total accumulation estimated at 130 million tons since 1952, 55% of which is poured directly into the Gulf of Gabes.
3- Adopting new industries that deplete the environment and people’s lives, such as green hydrogen, a decision that in turn caused protests and petitions sent to the complex and the government, denouncing this step, which reflects a lack of seriousness in dealing with this issue, especially with the wounds of “Al-Qawabsiyah”, which have accumulated for many years.
Protest movements and social demands
Since 2005, the people of Gabès have moved many times to alert the authorities and raise a cry of panic about their health condition and the dangers threatening them, but the policy of the late President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali prevented matters from developing to a level of protest, and the government at the time was keen to silence them through some decisions that remained a dead letter.
The silence of the “Qawabsia” continued for many years, amid their feeling of injustice, which was increasing year after year. They did not rise up against the tragedy they were experiencing until after the 2011 revolution, when they went out in groups and alone, old and young, to express their discontent and demand once again the dismantling of these industrial units that pollute their lives, health and environment.
The protests of the people of Gabès continued throughout the years after the revolution, until now, as the city of Gabès witnessed a general strike on October 21, and increasing protests, including the capital, in which Tunisians came out, expressing their solidarity with the people of Gabès, demanding two basic things:
- Dismantling the industrial units that cause pollution, health, environmental and food damage in this governorate, to stop the deadly deterioration of humans, animals, fish and agricultural wealth.
- Adopting a new approach, according to which Gabès regains the life it used to have two decades ago, and future generations will have a share of living among their families, after its youth began to take “death boats” as a way to emigrate abroad; In search of a living, on the one hand, and for a healthy environment that compensates them for the years of anxiety that have arisen with them since their childhood.
How did the government confront these protests?
In the absence of a strategic vision for dealing with this type of complex files, in which the economic, social and political are mixed, the authority was quick to demonize the movement of the people of Gabès, and accused “conspirators” and “traitors” of adding fuel to the fire of Gabès’ anger, and described the young students and students who went out to protest as “hires.” And of course the authorities threatened them, before arresting dozens. Of them all at once, it referred 89 of them to the Public Prosecution, including about 20 minor children, and the case is still ongoing in the Tunisian courts.
What is strange is that the authorities in Tunisia are still using the method of demonizing protests, every opinion that opposes them, and every criticism directed at the highest levels of power, just as Presidents Bourguiba and Ben Ali did during the time of tyranny, where that linguistic lexicon is invoked, from “traitors,” “conspirators,” “misguided fragments,” “hires,” and “collaborators with foreign embassies,” to give a political coloring. For the protests, and demonizing them, in preparation for justifying their subsequent suppression… In fact, the head of state went out to Tunisians, and the world, to talk to them about the conflict between Jarir and Al-Farazdaq, in a clear message, that all political moves against him will not succeed, and will not change anything in the equation.
In parallel, the Assembly of People’s Representatives held a parliamentary session, which was characterized by boldness and harsh criticism of the authority and the government, and demanded the speedy dismantling of the unity of the assembly, and criticized the government’s failure to devise solutions to this issue, without the voices of the representatives being heard, despite the fact that most of them are supporters of the President of the Republic in particular.
To absorb the boiling of “Gabès”, the Tunisian Presidency’s page quoted Saied, when he met with the Speaker of Parliament, Ibrahim Bouderbala, as saying, “Work is underway with the aim of finding immediate solutions to pollution until a comprehensive strategy is developed not only in Gabès, but in all regions of the Republic,” before he assigned a committee of representatives from the Ministries of Environment and Industry to visit Gabès Governorate and prepare a detailed report on what is happening in the chemical complex.
These efforts did not bear fruit, especially in the face of the Council continuing its work, so the people of Gabès, its youth, and the civil society there continued to move and protest, so that their demands would remain in the minds of those who have a conscience in the country.
In the same context, the Gabes Bar Association moved to file a lawsuit against the chemical complex, against the backdrop of “an imminent danger threatening the lives of the population,” which is the same legal phrase that President Kais Saied used to close Parliament, overthrow the democratic transition in Tunisia, and carry out the famous “July 2021 coup.”
Associations, parties and organizations, together with the Journalists Syndicate, organized a popular march in front of the chemical complex in the capital, Tunisia, to force the government to dismantle the industrial units affiliated with the complex.
The situation in Gabès is still flowing a lot of ink and inflaming social media, in which some pages have been accused of being “paid” and whose threads are drawn from abroad, in reference to Tunisians opposed to President Saied, and some countries, which the government does not mention by name, and the president only comes to them vaguely, as he has always done.
In conclusion, the authorities in Tunisia are still dealing with citizen protests, with a security mind, and with the method of judicial resolution, and considering them as “hotspots of tension,” “a source of security concern,” or “a threat to the stability of the ruling system,” and resorting, as quickly as possible, to what Michel Foucault calls “the system of arrest and detention.” There lies the power of the state, as Al-Kawakibi says, and as embodied in practice by the current authorities.
We do not really know whether the Tunisian state is consciously pushing the ball of social anger to grow, the political rivalry to worsen, and the country’s situation to get worse, at a time when the state is gradually heading towards financial and economic difficulties, at a rapid pace, and may have ended – God forbid – in bankruptcy, as experts and economists confirm.
The opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera Network.