Côte d’Ivoire has come to the aid of its nationals living in Tunisia, with a repatriation operation for 500 Ivorians seeking to leave the country where they were driven from their homes. A situation that follows the words of the Tunisian president who denounced illegal immigration in his country. For several days, whole families have been camping near the Ivorian embassy. Report by Lilia Blaise, Hamdi Tlili, and Laurent Berstecher.
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Ivory Coast
With our correspondent in Tunis, Lilia Blaise
In Tunisia, hundreds of Ivorians arrive every day in front of their embassy to apply for voluntary repatriation. Since the call from their chancellery on February 24, 2023 to register Ivorians wishing to return to their country, the Ivorian government has also announced the release, on March 1, of one billion CFA francs (1.5 million euros) to also grant a nest egg to 500 nationals identified for voluntary return and thus facilitate their reintegration into the country according to the spokesperson for the Ivorian government. The arrival date of the first plane has not yet been given.
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Nevertheless, in front of the Embassy of Côte d’Ivoire, this March 2, 2023, the crowd is still gathering at the entrance. Laurent Cédric, 33, came, hoping to be able to go home soon. ” We are there in relation to the consular card, in fact in relation to the situation in Tunisiahe explains. We are driven out of our house, we can no longer work. The Tunisian president asks us to go home. There is a problem of racism, in fact. That’s what we’re here for, to check in with us ».
« Si on me dit “go to your country“It’s not a game”
The Ivorian government has announced the sending of planes and financial assistance for those who return voluntarily. ” thank goodness the president [ivoirien Alassane Ouattara, Ndlr] has a project anyway for us, for a small compensation “, continues Cédric.
Magui, 35, is ready for the start. ” I don’t want to stay here in Tunisia anymorehe blurts out. I am ready to go to my country. Because if someone tells me “go to your country“, it’s not a game… We came to look for each other but we were told it’s impossible, so we want to go home ».
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Joachim has found a solution to his housing problem and wants to stay. “I was chased into a first house. And the second house, the guy picked me up and took me to the town hallhe says. We made a statement. He told me that I can stay and we’ll see for the next few days. So for now I believe I’m here ».
Five hundred Ivorians should be repatriated according to the first announcements of the Ivorian government. Tunisia has nearly 7,000 Ivorian nationals according to the National Institute of Statistics.
► Read also Tunisia: the Embassy of Côte d’Ivoire comes to the aid of its nationals
Ivory Coast: the rubber sector in Paris in search of rehabilitation
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
At the Paris Agricultural Show, the rubber industry in Côte d’Ivoire came to announce the launch of a rubber labeling process. One way to meet the new requirements set by Europeans in the fight once morest deforestation.
A distinguished guest at the International Agricultural Show in Paris, Côte d’Ivoire made the show. Beyond the promotion of Ivorian agriculture, those in charge of the rubber sector also came to plead their cause in the face of new European directives in the field of deforestation. A labeling process for Ivorian rubber has just been launched. Edmond Coulibaly is the managing director of the Rubber-Oil Palm Council, the sector’s regulatory body. For him, “itis both to guarantee to the consumer that the Ivorian production is of quality, and also that it is a sustainable production ».
Since last December, the Europeans have required for a certain number of products entering the Union, including rubber, to prove that they do not come from forests degraded or destroyed following December 2020. A provision in the process of being adopted and which according to Edmond Coulibaly does not correspond to the realities of rubber tree cultivation.
« Ivorian production is not at the expense of the forest “, he assures. “ And even so, for us, a rubber plantation is actually a forest. If you take a pine forest here [en France, NDLR], you will realize that if you replace pine with rubber trees, you will have exactly the same forest. We therefore want to tell the whole world, the European consumer, the Asian consumer that our production is not only of high quality, but also that it is done in accordance with sustainability standards that contribute to the global effort to limit global warming. . »
The Ivorian Minister of Agriculture, Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani is even more direct towards European officials. ” When producers are asked to show the origin of their products on the pretext that if this is not done, they will be sanctioned, this is not normal “, declares the minister. ” Rubber should not be one of those products. Contrary to what is said, the rubber tree is a useful tree, because it appeals to the rain. The areas where we have planted the most rubber trees are areas where it rains a lot “, adds Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani.
The CEO of Apromac, the body that brings together professionals in the sector, goes even further. “ We want MPs and everyone to hear us, rubber is a tool that can be used to reforest. It’s very positive “, he underlines.
Côte d’Ivoire is one of the leading agricultural powers in Africa. Rubber, cocoa, cashew or pineapple and bananas support millions of people. Suffice to say that advocacy towards the European Union has only just begun.
A genetic disease, albinism is characterized by a lack of pigmentation of the skin, body hair and hair. This disease leads to extreme sensitivity to ultraviolet rays, skin and visual disorders and an increased risk of developing skin cancer.
(Replay)
With a prevalence two to three times higher than in the rest of the world, albinism in sub-Saharan Africa is a multiple burden, given sun exposure and difficulties in accessing protective clothing and protective creams.
In Côte d’Ivoire, the population affected by albinism suffers from deficiencies in the prevention of skin cancer. Inadequate health, to which are added exclusion and serious forms of discrimination linked to false beliefs.
Report by Raphaelle Constant, produced in partnership with the Pierre Fabre Foundationorganizer of 3e African meeting of dermatology organized in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in October 2022.
Living with albinism in Ivory Coast, a report by Raphaëlle Constant
Living with albinism in Ivory Coast, a report by Raphaëlle Constant