[Picture from same article - copyright tunisia-live.net,
21/11/2012 – Image Eric Vandeville]
18.11.2012. According to an interview
conducted by Essabah (a Tunisian newspaper) with Dr. Abed Rahmen Ben Mansour,
the Tunisian Consul General in Palermo, Italy, more than 850 Tunisian illegal
immigrants drowned en route to Italy since the Tunisian Revolution. An
additional 120 individuals are missing and 3,380 were deported.
Since the start of the Arab Spring, more
than 25,000 Tunisians have arrived in Italy by sea, many on the tiny island of
Lampedusa. Most are Tunisians fleeing economic problems that helped trigger the
upheaval. In January 2011, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia’s now ex-president,
was ousted from office. Despite the celebrations throughout Tunisia, thousands
of Tunisia’s young men continue to risk their lives to travel to Europe, convinced
that their native country holds no future for their families.
