Fifty migrants missing and four drowned is the latest figure reported on the migratory route that crosses the Tunisian coasts. This time the tragic event occurs in the Querquenes islands. It is estimated that the numbers must be much higher, due to the "silent" shipwrecks that occur without even a report of suspicion.
The Tunisian Coast Guard has managed to rescue two people, the spokesman of the Court of First Instance of Sfax 1 told the press. On Sunday, about ten migrants were found drowned after the shipwreck of a boat coming from El Awabed.
The crises in North African countries themselves generate migratory movements that add to the number of tragic events at sea. Tunisia's deepening economic and political crisis has led many Tunisians to join the sub-Saharan migration routes.
The Tunisian coast guard has recovered 901 bodies of migrants drowned off its coasts between January 1 and July 20 this year. Tunisia has even recorded the highest number of drowning deaths in North Africa, surpassing the indicators that historically characterized the Libyan route.
The president of the Tunisian General Union of Workers, Noureddine Taboubi, clarified in launching an appeal not to treat the migration flows file as a mere security issue, inviting Tunisia to sign a tripartite agreement with Libya and Algeria to "protect the common borders," he told the Libya Observer.
In fact, Taboubi noted, "Tunisia does not border Niger, Mali or other sub-Saharan African states" from where "irregular migrants" depart. As reported last July 26 by Tunisia's Interior Minister, in the first seven months of 2023, the Tunisian Coast Guard recovered 901 bodies of migrants off the country's coasts.
The Canary Islands route continues to be the most deadly, because people are exposed to open ocean crossings that can exceed a distance of 450 kilometers and can reach up to 1000 kilometers.
Most of the shipwrecks are due to small boats and the habit of overloading them. The "pateras" and the so-called cayucos, which are just small boats with motors. This type of boats exceeded 500 last year in crossing to the Canary Islands.