On October 17, Linda, a four-year-old Tunisian girl, landed alone on the Italian island of Lampedusa. Her parents had not been able to board the boat with her. The Tunisian authorities accuse them of abandoning minors and have imposed a travel ban on them. Negotiations are underway to repatriate the child to his country of origin.
“Linda is fine. She lives in a children’s center in Palermo […] But she constantly asks where her parents are and when she can find them.” Majdi Karbai is one of three Tunisian deputies representing Tunisians living in Italy. Since the arrival of the 4-year-old girl (he had initially announced that she was three years old) on the Italian island of Lampedusa, on October 17, he has been involved in the steps to allow his future transfer.
Linda really shouldn’t have arrived alone. Her parents and her 7-year-old sister were to travel with her. But a movement of panic took place at the time of departure and the boat left without Linda’s parents. For 26 hours, the children sailed in a wooden boat carrying 70 people in all.
Three weeks after her arrival in Italy, Linda still has not found her parents. Time is running out because the child has suffered a strong emotional shock and is not old enough to understand what has happened. To deal with this situation, she is supported in particular by Save the Children teams. “She plays with other children and a psychosocial support team helps her release her fears and her pressure,” said Giovanna De Benedetto, spokeswoman for the NGO, interviewed by The Guardian.
Ban on leaving Tunisia
But the steps to reunite the family are complex because Linda’s parents are forbidden to leave Tunisia. The child, who has been placed under the authority of a guardian in Italy, must therefore be repatriated.
According to the Tunisian Ministry of the Family, negotiations are underway with the Tunisian consular services in Palermo to organize his return to Tunisia. But a Sicilian judge blocked the process on October 28. The magistrate demands a report detailing the reasons why Linda found herself without her parents on the boat.
According to Majdi Karbai, who was able to speak with a family member, Linda’s father held his daughter in his arms to board the boat while his wife was behind him with their eldest daughter and luggage. Afraid of drowning on the way to the boat, Linda’s mother cried out, and the father came to her aid, the MP told the Guardian newspaper.
“At some point, Linda’s father had to go back to help the rest of the family and therefore temporarily sat Linda on the boat,” Majdi Karbai explained. “Meanwhile the driver saw the big headlights of a lorry and thought it was the police, so he started the engine and drove off, leaving Linda’s family behind.”
Economic and political crisis
The family, originally from the town of Sayada, some 160km south of Tunis, had decided to try their luck in Europe because of the economic and political crisis currently affecting Tunisia. His salary as a traveling sandwich seller no longer allowed the father to support the family. They were also hoping to get treatment for Linda’s older sister, who has heart problems.
Between January and October 2022, more than 16,000 Tunisian migrants reached Italy, according to the FTDES. The mass departures of Tunisians are caused by the deteriorating economic situation in the country, with galloping inflation and an uncertain political situation. Tunisia now has four million poor out of nearly 12 million inhabitants. In addition to these problems, there are also often arbitrary restrictions on the granting of visas which affect more and more Tunisians.
The country is also the point of departure each year for thousands of sub-Saharans or nationals of other poor or war-torn countries, many of whom have already been deported for the first time to Tunisia after their illegal departure from neighboring Libya.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 2,600 Tunisian minors have managed to reach the Italian coast. More than two-thirds were unaccompanied by their parents.
