Tunisia's smuggling trade poses security risk
Tunisia is viewed as the sole success story of the "Arab Spring" but remains deeply troubled by factors including a flailing economy and the participation of thousands of its nationals in conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Libya - more than from any other country. This feature article based on first-hand reporting in Tunisia looks at the impact of cross-border smuggling with Libya, and Algeria, on Tunisia's fragile economic and security situation.
Tunisia - At a checkpoint outside Qayrawan, two soldiers inspect a mini-bus transporting locals to Tunis. Looking in the boot, the soldiers pick out a large black Nike bag. Its owner is called, opening it to reveal hundreds of flat caps, and an assortment of tracksuits packaged in plastic sheaths.
The products have reached Tunisia through Ben Gardane, a town located 30km from the Libyan border, having originally reached Libya from China and Turkey.
After a couple of minutes of debate, the bag's owner is invited to take a seat in a military jeep which transports him to a local police station. The mini-bus follows. Fifteen minutes later the owner returns to the bus struggling under the weight of the black bag.
The products have been smuggled into the country, but the policemen have turned a blind eye. The bus continues its journey north. Ben Gardane has long been regarded as Tunisia's principal smuggling hot-spot.
In an area long neglected by government investment, smuggling in Ben Gardane, home to 58,000 people, has traditionally been a major economic activity, providing employment for as much as 20 percent of the population.
Such has been the contribution of smuggling to economic growth in southern Tunisia that, before 2011, the Ben Ali regime is said to have accepted - and even encouraged - the emergence of trafficking cartels...
(To continue reading please follow the link: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/12/tunisia-smuggling-trade-poses-security-risk-201412237244616426.html)
