Nearly 5,000 Tunisians took the flight to try to reach the coasts of Europe in recent days, fleeing Tunisia reconstruction where the transitional government is under strong social and political pressure. Faced with this influx of people arriving on Lampedusa, a small Italian island south of Sicily, Italian authorities have launched an appeal for international assistance.
In the one night from Saturday to Sunday, the Italian Coast Guard identified no fewer than 1,400 arrivals. "The situation is difficult, acknowledged the commander of the port, the landings are continuing at a relentless pace." The calm seas and good weather favor these departures even if the crossing is not without risk.
Saturday, twelve people were shipwrecked off Zarzis, leaving one dead and one missing, according to the Tunisian agency TAP. To ease the immigrants, Italian authorities decided the immediate opening of first reception center which was closed in 2009, and about a thousand people have found shelter immediately.
The Tunisian authorities have announced the immediate dispatch of reinforcements on Sunday. "There are people who seek political asylum but also those fleeing poverty and strikes," summed Federico Fossi, a spokesman for Rome's High Commissioner to the United Nations for Refugees (UNHCR), adding that situation in Lampedusa "has become critical." A young woman, interviewed anonymously by, summarizes the reasons for the Tunisians to leave the country: "It is impossible for us to live in Tunisia: it is violence, abductions, no one knows who control the country is adrift.
" The Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni declared a state of humanitarian emergency, which avoids certain statutory and immediate operational measures, and said he would seek "permission for our forces' Tunisia intervene to block the flow. " For Mr. Maroni, a member of the party and populist anti-immigrant Northern League, "the Tunisian system is collapsing and the Maghreb (...) is exploding." He took the opportunity to criticize strongly the European Union, which "does nothing" and "left Italy alone, as usual." "We manage the humanitarian emergency with only the civil protection.
Intervention of Europe is essential," he said. The European Commissioner for security Cecilia Malmström "is well aware of the exceptional pressure on Italy" and examines the measures it might take, said a spokesman. The exodus comes as the Tunisian government transition appears outdated in a country in total reconstruction after the fall of the regime of President Zine El-Ali AbidineBen.
The transitional government is still under strong political and social pressure. The society's most disadvantaged are showing more and more impatient, especially in inland provinces. In Tunis, Saturday, hundreds of judges and lawyers demonstrated outside the courthouse to demand their rights to independence.
Others protested outside the governorate of Tunis to demand the aid of all kinds. And politically, the debate rages between proponents of a rapid normalization with presidential and legislative elections in six months and those who warn against a "confiscation" of the revolution, advocating a postponement of at least one year.
Aware that the smooth running of the transition depends on the revival of economic activity, the Tunisian authorities have stepped up calls for the international community to support the economy. The tourism sector (6.5% of GDP and 350,000 jobs) in particular has been crippled by the weeks of chaos and vagueness.
Saturday, France has lifted its travel restrictions to coastal cities and the Tunisian island of Djerba. Germany will also give the go-ahead for the resort areas on the east coast, according to his foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle. 
In the one night from Saturday to Sunday, the Italian Coast Guard identified no fewer than 1,400 arrivals. "The situation is difficult, acknowledged the commander of the port, the landings are continuing at a relentless pace." The calm seas and good weather favor these departures even if the crossing is not without risk.
Saturday, twelve people were shipwrecked off Zarzis, leaving one dead and one missing, according to the Tunisian agency TAP. To ease the immigrants, Italian authorities decided the immediate opening of first reception center which was closed in 2009, and about a thousand people have found shelter immediately.
The Tunisian authorities have announced the immediate dispatch of reinforcements on Sunday. "There are people who seek political asylum but also those fleeing poverty and strikes," summed Federico Fossi, a spokesman for Rome's High Commissioner to the United Nations for Refugees (UNHCR), adding that situation in Lampedusa "has become critical." A young woman, interviewed anonymously by, summarizes the reasons for the Tunisians to leave the country: "It is impossible for us to live in Tunisia: it is violence, abductions, no one knows who control the country is adrift.
" The Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni declared a state of humanitarian emergency, which avoids certain statutory and immediate operational measures, and said he would seek "permission for our forces' Tunisia intervene to block the flow. " For Mr. Maroni, a member of the party and populist anti-immigrant Northern League, "the Tunisian system is collapsing and the Maghreb (...) is exploding." He took the opportunity to criticize strongly the European Union, which "does nothing" and "left Italy alone, as usual." "We manage the humanitarian emergency with only the civil protection.
Intervention of Europe is essential," he said. The European Commissioner for security Cecilia Malmström "is well aware of the exceptional pressure on Italy" and examines the measures it might take, said a spokesman. The exodus comes as the Tunisian government transition appears outdated in a country in total reconstruction after the fall of the regime of President Zine El-Ali AbidineBen.
The transitional government is still under strong political and social pressure. The society's most disadvantaged are showing more and more impatient, especially in inland provinces. In Tunis, Saturday, hundreds of judges and lawyers demonstrated outside the courthouse to demand their rights to independence.
Others protested outside the governorate of Tunis to demand the aid of all kinds. And politically, the debate rages between proponents of a rapid normalization with presidential and legislative elections in six months and those who warn against a "confiscation" of the revolution, advocating a postponement of at least one year.
Aware that the smooth running of the transition depends on the revival of economic activity, the Tunisian authorities have stepped up calls for the international community to support the economy. The tourism sector (6.5% of GDP and 350,000 jobs) in particular has been crippled by the weeks of chaos and vagueness.
Saturday, France has lifted its travel restrictions to coastal cities and the Tunisian island of Djerba. Germany will also give the go-ahead for the resort areas on the east coast, according to his foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle.
- Tunisia says ready to cooperate on immigrants - AFP (14/02/2011)
- Thousands of Tunisians Arrive on Italy's Shores - New York Times (13/02/2011)
- Italy alert over Tunisia migrants (14/02/2011)
- Tunisia unrest: Italy's state of emergency as 4,000 illegal immigrants arrive in 4 days (13/02/2011)
- Italy alert over Tunisia migrants - BBC News (14/02/2011)
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