Zohour Al-Mashriqi

Tunisia- Participants in the protest urged authorities to take immediate action to find lasting solutions to the crisis caused by the chemical complex, insisting that transferring the industrial units is the only solution and rejecting any alternatives. They stressed that “keeping the complex in Gabes is no longer possible given the worsening health and environmental damage.”

Dozens of Tunisian citizens took to the streets of Tunis on Wednesday, October 15, in response to a call from the association “Dar Gabes.” They demanded the dismantling of the polluting industrial units belonging to the Chemical Complex in the southeastern governorate of Gabes.

Protesters carried banners calling on authorities to intervene immediately to end what they described as “a continuous threat” to the lives of residents, emphasizing that the only real solution lies in relocating these units, which have caused the spread of chronic diseases—most notably cancer—as well as daily cases of suffocation due to the toxic gases emitted by the complex.

The demonstrators also raised powerful slogans reflecting the scale of their suffering, such as “Gabes is suffocating,” “We can’t breathe,” “We want to live,” “Gabes, the paradise of the world,” and “Stop pollution.”

For more than 53 years, the governorate of Gabes has endured a severe environmental and health crisis that began with the establishment of the chemical complex, which has since become a symbol of pollution in the region. The gas emissions from its chimneys have degraded air quality, while the massive quantities of phosphogypsum discharged daily into the sea have devastated marine life along the coast of Gabes, causing severe harm to both people and the environment.

 

 “Our Demands Are Well Known”

Activist Hanaa Najima, from the “Stop Pollution” movement, explained that choosing Independence Day for the protest was no coincidence. It symbolized the people’s desire to transform it into an “Environmental Liberation Day,” representing freedom from the pollution that has been suffocating the region for over half a century.

She emphasized that the residents’ demands are well known to everyone—they reflect the suffering of Gabes and “the cry of nature,” which has been violated for decades. The situation, she said, has reached a dangerous stage: cases of suffocation have been increasingly affecting children and students in schools since September, with two new cases recorded just last Tuesday.

Najima affirmed that the people of Gabes have a constitutional right to live in a healthy environment with clean air and decent living conditions. She stressed that the environmental crisis in Gabes is not merely a local issue but one that concerns the entire country, describing it as “a just cause” comparable to the Palestinian cause, saying, “This is a matter of life and death.”

She called on all Tunisian governorates to show solidarity with Gabes and criticized the authorities’ disregard for the residents’ demands. The core demand, she said, remains the dismantling of the polluting industrial units—a decision she described as “deeply political.”

Expressing her shock at the state’s handling of peaceful demonstrations, she said: “We suffocate daily from phosphogene, yet the state responds with tear gas and violence. This is unacceptable.”

Najima also pointed out that the constitution guarantees the right to health, questioning how hospitals in Gabes could lack oxygen supplies needed to save children suffering from suffocation. “We were forced to issue urgent appeals for oxygen cylinders. This proves that we are facing a continuing state crime,” she said.

 

Supporting the Women of Gabes Is a Human Duty

For her part, human rights and feminist activist Najat Arari emphasized that supporting the women of Gabes—among the groups most affected by the environmental crisis—is a moral and humanitarian duty. She stressed that the issue at hand is not merely local but concerns fundamental rights: the right to health, environmental and food security, and social safety.

“The lives of thousands of Gabes residents are now at risk, which requires urgent action and broad solidarity,” Arari said.

She explained that numerous scientific studies have established a clear link between pollution and the spread of serious diseases in the region. These studies have documented high rates of infertility, miscarriages, respiratory and skin diseases, and weakened immunity due to chronic exposure to toxins contaminating the sea, soil, and air.

“Silence in the face of such grave violations is complicity,” she continued. “We are witnessing an environmental crime that is killing people. The state and its institutions must act immediately—away from empty slogans about workers’ rights at the complex. There are no rights without health. Human life is sacred and cannot be trivialized.”

Environmental experts, she added, have estimated that pollution from Gabes spreads over a radius of up to 500 kilometers, meaning its effects extend far beyond the region and threaten the health and safety of all Tunisians. “We have the right to live in a clean environment and with dignity,” she said, urging the government to fulfill its responsibility to protect these rights and ensure a safe life for all citizens.

 

“A Danger That Threatens All of Tunisia”

Meanwhile, feminist activist and former president of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women Nayla Zghlami affirmed that the protest was held in solidarity with Gabes, which has long suffered from environmental pollution and the destruction of nature. She declared that it is time for the state to assume its responsibilities and recognize the danger that threatens not only Gabes but Tunisia as a whole.

Zghlami explained that Gabes has become plagued with deadly diseases due to pollution, with women and children being the first victims. This, she said, demands urgent measures to protect residents’ lives and ensure their right to a healthy environment.

She concluded: “These demonstrations are the result of years of ignored demands. It’s time to confront the issue and find real solutions beyond slogans and statements. The environment is dying, and humanity is perishing.”