Tunis: parents of missing harraga intend to commit suicide by fire
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Forum Tunisien pour les Droits Economiques et Sociaux
(Tunisian Forum for Social and Economic Rights)
Thursday night (April 19, 2012) both parents of a missing harraga set themselves on fire, in the neighborhood of El Kabaria in Tunis.
The mother was hospitalized in serious condition. This tragic act of despair condemns the anti-immigration policies of the European Union. Indeed, for over a year, families of missing migrants and Tunisian civil society have been continuously asking Italian and Tunisian authorities to provide a clear answer concerning missing migrants. In vain. Despite receiving fingerprints of the missing persons, Italian authorities did not give any clarification about what happened to missing harragas. The Tunisian Forum for Social and Economic Rights (Forum Tunisien pour les Droits Economiques et Sociaux) considers that a clear answer has to be urgently given concerning this question. We believe such an answer to be the minimum considering the tragic situation of the families. It is time for the authorities of both sides of the Mediterranean to assume the consequences of their policies, which are responsible for disappearances and deaths, plunging hundreds of families into mourning.
Abderahmene Hedhili
President
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