“Ocean Viking”, the silences of the Maghreb

LETTER FROM MAGHREB. From Rabat to Tunis, concern is growing as Italy and France are struggling over the issue of migrants. A vicious circle.

Par Benoit Delmas

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That two founding countries of the European Union openly display their disagreements on this file is a premise of discord for North Africa, the imminence of a new disorder being added to the great pre-existing disorder. Here, migrants aboard the “Ocean Viking”.
© VINCENZO CIRCOSTA / AFP

Published on 13/11/2022 at 11:00 a.m.

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Lhe diplomatic duel that took place between France and Italy did not make anyone smile except the digital orchestra of Russian propaganda overplaying the score of “European racism”. The soap operaOcean Viking tossed from one port refusal to another despite the health situation of its 230 “passengers” will not be without future episodes. By refusing him the right to dock, the government of Giorgia Meloni wanted to mark the blow of the first hundred days of his mandate. After having welcomed three boats since taking office, the one who wants to be the anti-immigration iron lady will have failed the fourth while passing the problem on to France. Who will have received theOcean Viking in the rules.

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It feels every man for himself

Roman rantings and political skirmishes will have provoked a crisis with Paris, heartbroken silences in the capitals of northern Africa and comforted Maghreb public opinion in its resentment. That two of the Maghreb’s most important partners are clashing over irregular migrants is very bad collective news. That two founding countries of the European Union openly display their disagreements on this file is a premise of discord for North Africa, the imminence of a new disorder being added to the great pre-existing disorder. It smells of the every man for himself of two European capitals, while the region was used to an osmosis between governments and the European Commission. It was common to meet in Tunis the Italian Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Interior accompanied by two European Commissioners. This dialogue is in danger of disappearing, a sign that pure and hard politics has made its executive entry into this tragic file. It is no longer campaign remarks that divide but government decisions.

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The spite of the capitals of the Maghreb

Migrants from theOcean Viking did not leave Tunis as some political leaders have suggested. Irregular migration does not board from a platform, ticket in hand, stewards for reception. This is done at night, on abandoned beaches, in order to avoid police and military. The migrants rescued by theOcean Viking, like so many before, were picked up in small bundles in international waters bordering Libyan waters. An aggregate of boats of all kinds, barcasses, inflatables, everything from drifting from the shores of Benghazi & Co. Italian anger on this subject is nothing new. At the height of the Syrian war in 2015, almost two hundred thousand migrants were arriving. Between Lampedusa (Italian island) and the Tunisian and Libyan coasts, there is an informal maritime highway that connects the two continents. With a crossing of 36 to 48 hours in favorable seas, you can reach the Schengen area from the shores of Sfax, Zarzis (Tunisia) or Tripoli, Benghazi (Libya). The role of smugglers depends on where the migrants come from. And Maghreb leaders are as powerless as their northern counterparts.

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Insoluble situations from Rabat to Tunis

Rabat has always explained that its position as guardian of Europe’s borders was not enviable. Morocco, which wants to be a hub between the two continents, finds itself dissatisfying everyone, playing the stick against sub-Saharan migrants, as proved by the investigation of the Point, using the migratory weapon to obtain support on the Western Sahara file. Pinned by Paris on its lack of enthusiasm to take back its citizens who have received an OQTF (obligation to leave French territory), Rabat is nevertheless an important security partner, from police officers willing in Paris to work on said minors to collaboration counterterrorism.

In Algeria, the deal is static. Despite the official visit of President Macron followed by that of Élisabeth Borne with half of her government, the OQTFs are not making progress. And Algiers has always been ruthless: when you leave, you are no longer welcome.

Tunisians try to pass themselves off as Algerians when they are arrested on their arrival in Europe so as not to be expelled.

In Libya, the European Union has deployed major resources with Frontex to toughen up the Libyan coastguards. A bit too much sometimes, given the “values ​​of the European Union”. The Mediterranean has turned into a cemetery hosting several thousand new burials each year. The war between Emmanuel Macron’s France and Giorgia Meloni’s Italy will have serious repercussions on migration routes. Each evening, men, women and more and more children hurry alone towards inflatables, barcasses. A fifth of the survivors of theOcean Viking are unaccompanied minors. A growing phenomenon. Faced with this social tragedy, the capitals of the Maghreb are faced with a dilemma: to crack down or to tolerate. Without more success than France or Italy.

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