Checkpoint Tunisia 26' – Arabic & French

Tunisia has gone from a beautiful postcard to that of a country where you can be killed while sun-bathing on the beach. The attacks on Sousse Beach in 2015 are said to have caused irreparable image damage. However, since 2015, the country has not suffered any attacks from Daesh or its branches, whereas in Europe, attacks are happening one after another (Paris, Brussels, Nice, Berlin, London, Manchester).

Tunisians are shocked by these European governments – including Switzerland – who still continue today to dissuade their nationals from visiting Tunisia for holidays, in particular through “travel advice”, which is still very alarming.

The lack of tourists is synonymous of a rising unemployment rate, a social despair that can end up jeopardising the brand new democracy, the only success of the Arab Spring. Hopeless, young people are tempted by extremes, and for example, women who are very active in the tourism sector, must go stay home. The absence of European tourists proves Daesh right”, summarises an hotelier.

Temps Present met these Tunisians men and women who counted on us, Europeans: according to them, a developing & working economy is the best barrier to Islamists and extremists.