Conflicting narratives ignite the protests in Gabès, Tunisia.. What is their story? | news

As the wave continues Protests In the Gabes Governorate, located in southeastern Tunisia, several days ago, popular anger escalated against the backdrop of repeated cases of suffocation among residents, likely resulting from severe environmental pollution attributed to the activities of the Tunisian Chemical Complex in the region.

Coinciding with these developments, social media sites witnessed the circulation of different stories about the way the authorities dealt with the crisis, including allegations about a visit by the President of the Republic, Kais Saied, to Gabes to follow up on the environmental situation on the ground, and his assignment of a Chinese company to develop a technical plan to reduce emissions and industrial pollution in the governorate.

Statements attributed to official sources were also published accusing some of the protesters of being “hired” or paid by opposition political parties, which increased the controversy over the truth about what is happening in the city.

In this context, the “Al Jazeera Verification” team conducted an examination and analysis of the video materials and widespread allegations, to investigate the extent of their authenticity and trace their original sources, in an attempt to draw an accurate picture of what is actually happening in Gabès.

Saied’s visit to Gabès

Accounts traded on the Facebook platform A video clip Tunisian President Kais Saied appears while speaking with a number of citizens in Gabes Governorate who expressed their complaints about the deteriorating environmental situation in the region, while the president reassures them that “solutions are coming.”

These accounts presented the clip as documentation of a recent visit made by the president to Gabès following the recent wave of protests taking place in the governorate due to industrial pollution and the bottlenecks recorded among the population.

The “Al Jazeera Verify” team conducted a reverse search on the circulating video to determine its original source and its temporal and spatial context. The results of the verification showed that the clip actually dates back to a previous visit by Saied to Gabes, but the visit was not related to the current events.

It turned out that the circulating video was excerpted from video material she had published The official page of the Presidency of the Republic of Tunisia On Facebook on December 18, 2024, specifically starting at the minute (25:48) of the broadcast, as part of a report documenting the president’s tour in the states of Ben Guerdane, Gabes, and Sidi Bouzid on the occasion of the fourteenth anniversary of the Tunisian Revolution.

I also traded other accounts Pictures showing Saeed He speaks to citizens as if he is comforting them, while claiming that it was taken during a “surprise visit” to Gabès.

But checking the photos revealed that they were also old, as they were published in The official page of the Presidency of the Republic Dated May 2, 2024, and refers to a visit to the Dahmani area in the Kef Governorate, northwest of the country, and it is also not related to the current protests.

Assigned to a Chinese company

In a related context, Promoted accounts On social networking sites, Kais Saied issued an official decision assigning a Chinese company to develop a comprehensive plan to address environmental pollution in Gabes Governorate, and to implement a huge project to cleanse the area, considering that the city had achieved a “victory” after years of its battle with industrial pollution.

However, the Al Jazeera Investigation team reviewed the official statements of the government and the relevant ministries and did not find any official announcement in this regard. It turned out that the publishers of the claim relied on a statement published by the Ministry of Equipment and Housing on… Her official page on FacebookHe referred to a meeting between Minister Salah Al-Zawi and Chinese Ambassador Wan Li last Saturday, which was devoted – according to the text of the statement – “to discuss the rehabilitation of the production units of the chemical complex at Salam Beach in Gabès and the treatment of emissions and gas leaks from it.”

Accusations of fueling protests

As popular anger escalated, the official spokesman for the National Guard, Houssam Al-Din Al-Jabali, stated that “minors were exploited to incite the situation in Gabès in exchange for money and narcotic materials,” according to what was reported. The official Tunisian News Agency.

But the Al Jazeera Investigation team did not find any official evidence or government data to support this narrative, and the Ministry of Interior did not issue any clarifications regarding what has been happening in the city since the outbreak of the protests.

Field coverage and published videos indicate that the movements are mostly peaceful, and that the participants are residents of the area affected by pollution.

On the other hand, other accounts circulated a video that they claimed showed “foreigners distributing money to protesters in Gabès,” but verification proved that the clip was filmed in Egypt in 2013, and was published on Facebook. YouTube Under the title “Shawwal Money! Packages Distributed at Noon,” it has nothing to do with Tunisia.

The accusations were not limited to “financing the demonstrators” only; Parliamentary representative Fatima Masdi It denied the occurrence of cases of suffocation among students, described the situation in Gabès as “exaggeration”, and questioned the health symptoms resulting from gaseous emissions.

But the Tunisian Chemical Academy itself approved a report An official report was published in July 2024 that it causes clear environmental pollution that extends to other governorates such as Sidi Bouzid and Madhila, based on field questionnaires among workers and residents.

The National Ocean Protection Agency also warned in a previous statement published on Facebook of the emission of dense and suffocating gases in the Ghannouch area of ​​Gabès, which indicates that pollution in the city is a renewed issue andNot the first time In which the region recorded cases of suffocation by toxic gases, which caused respiratory diseases for residents, according to statements Doctors City.

It is noteworthy that the Tunisian General Labor Union – the largest union organization in Tunisia – called for a general strike in the governorate of Gabes, southeast of the country, today, Tuesday, October 21, in protest against pollution coming from the city’s chemical complex units.