Her family’s economic empire profited from Ben Ali’s policies. Then the Arab Spring came and Wided Bouchamaoui wanted to be on the right side of history. A discussion about whether and how Tunisia’s down-for-the-count economy can be saved.
Smuggling
Unscrupulous smugglers are taking advantage of the lawlessness of Libya, transforming the country into a gigantic transit zone for all kinds of goods. Their actions are endangering the prospect of a peaceful future on the North African coast.
Long neglected by the country’s rulers, tribes in southern Tunisia have been both enriched and altered by changes in trade flows and smuggling across the Libyan border.
Smuggling and jihad are among the few ways to make money in central Tunisia. Post-revolution the situation has grown even more dangerous and desperate.
In Libya, African migrants run into Jihadis, xenophobia and organised crime. Encounters with passage-makers and people smugglers between the Sahara and the Mediterranean.