{"id":1649,"date":"2025-07-23T08:56:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T08:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/?p=1649"},"modified":"2025-07-23T08:56:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T08:56:16","slug":"once-a-beacon-of-hope-tunisias-civil-society-struggles-to-survive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/once-a-beacon-of-hope-tunisias-civil-society-struggles-to-survive\/","title":{"rendered":"Once a beacon of hope, Tunisia&#8217;s civil society struggles to survive"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><em>The Tunisian General Labour Union, which won the 2015 Nobel peace prize with other civil society groups and could once bring tens of thousands onto the streets, has been sapped by the arrests of junior officials on corruption charges<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-1651\" src=\"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-23-at-09-54-56-image-20160306-17740-808na8.jpg-JPEG-Image-926-\u00d7-590-pixels-300x191.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"726\" height=\"462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-23-at-09-54-56-image-20160306-17740-808na8.jpg-JPEG-Image-926-\u00d7-590-pixels-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-23-at-09-54-56-image-20160306-17740-808na8.jpg-JPEG-Image-926-\u00d7-590-pixels-768x489.png 768w, https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-23-at-09-54-56-image-20160306-17740-808na8.jpg-JPEG-Image-926-\u00d7-590-pixels.png 926w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 726px) 100vw, 726px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Tunisian activist Cherifa Riahi was arrested just two months after giving birth, accused of harboring illegal migrants. Over a year later, she is still in prison without charge.<\/p>\n<p>Rights groups see Riahi\u2019s case as a symbol of accelerating repression of civil society under President Kais Saied, who dissolved parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree.<\/p>\n<p>The crackdown marks a significant turnaround for Tunisia, where civil society groups flourished in the wake of the 2011 uprising that unseated President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, inspired other Arab Spring uprisings, and helped shape a democratic transition.<\/p>\n<p>As head of a refugee support group, Riahi had been helping sub-Saharan asylum seekers and other migrants find housing and access medicine and food. Her family says she did nothing wrong.<\/p>\n<p>The forced separation from her daughter and young son has been traumatic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe girl doesn\u2019t recognize her mother at all,\u201d Riahi\u2019s mother Farida, who is now caring for her grandchild, told Reuters at their family home in La Marsa near the capital, Tunis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey took her while she was breastfeeding. We didn\u2019t even have time to understand what was happening.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since Saied\u2019s power grab, at least a dozen civil society figures like Riahi have been detained on allegations activists denounce as fabricated, according to rights groups and lawyers. At least 10 civil society groups have had their assets frozen and offices raided, they say.<\/p>\n<p>The Tunisian General Labour Union, which won the 2015 Nobel peace prize with other civil society groups and could once bring tens of thousands onto the streets, has been sapped by the arrests of junior officials on corruption charges.<\/p>\n<p>The Tunisian government\u2019s media office did not respond to calls and written questions seeking comment about Riahi\u2019s case and those of other activists and civil society groups.<\/p>\n<p>Saied, 67, has accused civil society groups of \u201cserving foreign agendas\u201d and undermining national unity.<\/p>\n<p>He has said he will not be a dictator and that freedom and democracy will be preserved, but that he will not allow chaos or interference through foreign funding or organizations that represent a \u201ctool of treason.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Activists warn that some of Tunisia\u2019s last surviving democratic gains are at risk as the judiciary, media and parliament have all come under tighter executive control and most opposition party leaders are in prison.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe attack on civil society organizations is not an isolated incident,\u201d said Romdhane Ben Amor of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, an independent advocacy group.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt comes within the context of the authorities\u2019 plan to close civic space and to end the democratic openness achieved by Tunisians after January 14, 2011.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-gtm-vis-recent-on-screen109681369_148=\"35219\" data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen109681369_148=\"35219\" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time109681369_148=\"100\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired109681369_148=\"1\">\u2019SEEN AS ENEMIES\u2019<\/p>\n<p>In Tunis, the offices of I Watch, an anti-corruption watchdog founded after the 2011 revolution, used to bustle with dozens of employees, volunteers and journalists.<\/p>\n<p>These days, only three employees work on-site. Dozens work remotely, some fearing raids or arrests.<\/p>\n<p>Wajdi Belloumi, I Watch\u2019s president, said its bank transfers have been hindered and official investigations into the group are piling up. Hotels have stopped renting spaces for the group\u2019s events, citing vague instructions from authorities, Belloumi said.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, the electoral commission refused for the first time to allow I Watch to monitor elections due to suspicions of foreign funding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re seen as enemies now,\u201d Belloumi told Reuters. \u201cMany volunteers are afraid. Whistle-blowers have gone quiet. The pressure is everywhere \u2014 legal, financial, even personal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ben Amor said he had received anonymous threats and started looking over his shoulder in public spaces.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople start saying, \u2018This man must be gotten rid of\u2019,\u201d he said, referring to comments sent in private messages, or \u201c\u2019your son studies at that school, your daughter studies at that school &#8230; I saw you on that street\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Foreign governments that once championed Tunisia\u2019s democratic transition now prioritize curbing migration and short-term stability, rights groups say.<\/p>\n<p>Ben Amor said he believed he had been targeted particularly after speaking out against Saied\u2019s recent anti-migrant rhetoric.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, the same year Tunisia signed a pact with the European Union aimed at stemming migration across the Mediterranean, Saied said illegal immigration was part of a \u201cconspiracy\u201d to alter Tunisia\u2019s demographics.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, authorities have dismantled tents and carried out forced deportations \u2014 the campaign amid which Riahi was detained.<\/p>\n<p>Though the space for civil society groups is shrinking by the day, Belloumi said he remains committed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe chose this path \u2014 transparency, justice, accountability,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re not walking away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6><em>Source: Arab News<\/em><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Tunisian General Labour Union, which won the 2015 Nobel peace prize with other civil&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107,106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-north-africa","category-tunisia"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661.jpg",670,391,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661-300x175.jpg",300,175,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661.jpg",640,373,false],"large":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661.jpg",640,373,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661.jpg",670,391,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661.jpg",670,391,false],"wpucv-grid-three":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661.jpg",360,210,false],"wpucv-grid-two":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661.jpg",600,350,false],"wpucv-grid-one":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661.jpg",670,391,false],"wpucv-classic":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661.jpg",291,170,false],"wpucv-classic-small":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661.jpg",150,88,false],"wpucv-galary":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661.jpg",400,233,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661.jpg",670,391,false],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661.jpg",670,391,false],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661.jpg",670,391,false],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4623363-792633661-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"info":["Saint Rich"]},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/category\/north-africa\/\" rel=\"category tag\">North Africa<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/category\/tunisia\/\" rel=\"category 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