Tunisia: Environmental Protests Erupt in the City of Gabès
The Tunisian city of Gabès has recently been witnessing protests in response to the deteriorating environmental situation caused by industrial and chemical activities, which have resulted in cases of suffocation due to gas emissions.
Gabès now joins a number of other environmentally affected Arab cities facing similar industrial impacts — such as the Moroccan city of Safi — where football fans recently raised slogans in solidarity with the residents of Gabès during a match, in a clear signal of a growing collective awareness of the environmental collapse in both cities.
The Regional Labor Union in Gabès has called for a general strike today to demand urgent solutions and to rescue the city’s environmental situation based on a model of sustainable development that balances economic and social needs with the right to a healthy environment.
The challenge of protecting the environment while at the same time preserving the jobs provided by these factories remains one of the most difficult tests — especially in the absence of adequate plans and funding, and amid the continued evasion of industrial companies from assuming their social and environmental responsibility towards the local population.
English 
Arabic