Factories belonging to the Tunisian Chemical Group are accused of causing severe respiratory illnesses and cancers. Local residents have been demanding — in vain — the “dismantling of the polluting units.”
Trapped between the sea and the industrial zone, the coastal oasis of Chatt Essalem is suffocating.
The factories of the Tunisian Chemical Group (GCT), established there in 1972, tower over once-green plots of land lined with date palms along the shores of the Gulf of Gabès, in eastern Tunisia. The chimneys of the industrial complex emit a toxic mix of sulfur, ammonia, and fluoride, used to transform phosphate extracted from the Gafsa mining basin into phosphoric acid and fertilizers for domestic use and export. This production has had devastating effects on the environment and nearby communities.
The once-lush oasis is now sparse. Entire hectares have been cleared, replaced by houses, and many former residents have moved away. Among the few remaining palm trees, Béchir Fetoui returns to the small plot he inherited from his father.
Source: lemonde
