The Dark Side of Tunisia’s Phosphate Boom

As Kais Saied’s government tries to capitalize on demand for a critical mineral, the country’s environment and Gafsa Valley residents are suffering.

REDEYEF, Tunisia—In Tunisia’s Gafsa Valley, the desert takes on a different guise. Rather than the picturesque dunes frequented by tourists farther south, the land bears the scars of a deteriorating landscape that has been relentlessly exploited. In the late 19th century, the French military officer and geologist Philippe Thomas stumbled upon the Gafsa phosphate reserve, marking the beginning of a transformation in Tunisia’s southwest.

Within the mountain range that delineates the border between Tunisia and Algeria, phosphate rocks from the Gafsa Valley reserve—once managed by the French, today by the public Company of Gafsa Phosphates (known as the CPG in French)—account for 15 percent of Tunisian total exports and led the CPG to become “a state within a state,” as locals call it again and again.

“This black dust is everywhere,” said Abdelbaset Ben Hmida, a resident of the mining town of Redeyef. Even during the hottest days, the windows of his house remain shut. His son Mouaid has suffered from severe chronic asthma since childhood.

Medics agree that the only way to improve Mouaid’s health is to leave Gafsa for the coast, where the air is cleaner. “But I would lose my job,” Abdelbaset complained, displaying dozens of prescriptions and hospital bills from years of his son’s ineffective treatment. The nearest hospital is 45 miles away.

Under the French protectorate, miners flocked to Redeyef from Europe and neighboring countries, such as Algeria and Morocco, in search of work. Today, however, the city is witnessing a steady exodus of its youth. Every family has a relative residing in Italy or France. The governorate of Gafsa embodies a paradox: Its soil is rich in high-value-added resources—phosphates contribute approximately between 3 percent and 4 percent to the country’s GDP—yet the unemployment rate remains among the highest across Tunisia (at about 25 percent according to 2022 figures from the Office of Southern Development).

Abdelbaset works for the civil service. Quitting his job is a risk he cannot afford: Once employing a large part of the population, CPG is hiring fewer and fewer local workers due to debt, protests, and the resulting decrease in production, all while international financial institutions are requiring public wage reductions as a condition for the Tunisian government to borrow.

Historically, protests or popular revolts in Tunisia have often been linked to the food and agriculture production chain.

This project was supported by Journalismfund Europe.

This article was published in Foreign Policy and is fully available here