Everyone knows about the existence of irregular migrants in Tunisia, but it’s not a political issue. Although the new constitution of 2014 includes a right to asylum, the existing respective draft law is waiting to be passed for two years already. “The migrants are here, but because they’re not making problems, everyone seems to be happy”, the former State Minister for Migration Affairs, Belgacem Sabri, told RLS in October 2015. A short time later, his function was cancelled, which exemplifies the low status the government assigns to the issue.

Terre d’Asile Tunisie, through their “House of Migration” in Tunis – where irregular migrants can meet and receive support – collected and evaluated data of 314 migrants from January 2014 to March 2016 in order to come to a better understanding of migration in Tunisia. Who are they? What are the reasons that made them come to Tunisia? What are their living conditions?

The results are published in the “Portraits de Migrants” and were presented on 19 December 2016 in the Dar Rosa, the event center of the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung in Tunis. Arabic and English language versions of the study are forthcoming.