A fisherman from Tunisia finds dead bodies stuck in his fishing net
Tunisia: As the number of immigrants trying to reach Europe increases, so does the number of casualties in the Mediterranean.
While European Union officers struggle to have the departure, the difficulty of those fleeing poverty and persecution is leaving its miserable mark on the shores of Tunisia.
As the sun inches above the horizon off the coasts of its eastern shore, fisherman Oussama Dabbebi starts hauling in his nets. His look fixes anxiously on its contents because sometimes fish are not all he sees.
“Instead of getting fish, I sometimes get dead bodies. The first time I was afraid, I got used to it step by step. After a while getting a dead body out of my net is like getting a fish.”
Also read: Dispute between China and US rise as Joe Biden calls Xi ‘Dictator’
The 30-year-old angler, clad in a dark, hooded sweatshirt and shorts, says he recently saw the bodies of 15 immigrants in his nets over three days.
“Once, I found a baby’s body. How is a baby responsible for anything? I was crying. For adults, it’s different because they have lived. But you know, it didn’t see anything for the baby.”
Since he was ten, Mr Dabbebi has been fishing in these waters near Tunisia’s second city of Sfax.
In those days, he was one of multiple casting their nets, but now he says most fishermen have sold their vessels for vast sums to people mules.
“Many times, smugglers have offered me unbelievable amounts to sell my boat. I have always refused because if they used my boat and someone drowned, I would never forgive myself.”
All eventually hope to get to the UK. One says they have reluctantly abandoned a second trip to Italy because of an overcrowded ship and worsening climate.
