Residents in the southern Tunisian city of Gabès are preparing for a major demonstration on Friday, demanding the dismantling of state-run chemical facilities they accuse of poisoning the region’s air, land, and sea for over five decades.
Under the slogan “The people want the dismantling of the units,” the Stop Pollution Movement in the city has called for the peaceful march, starting from the historic Jara market to Nazla Square in Chott Essalam.
Public outrage has intensified this October following yet another spike in respiratory illnesses and mass suffocation incidents—particularly among schoolchildren—triggered by toxic emissions from the government-owned Gabès Chemical Complex.
Demonstrators, many dressed in black to symbolize mourning and rage, chanted “We want to live, Gabès is suffocating,” and “We want to breathe.”
“We have 130,000 citizens from the region protesting the government’s policies in the region. These protests are resistance,” Gabès resident and member of Stop Pollution Movement, Hani Ben-Faraj told Al Manassa.
In a statement posted to Instagram on Wednesday, the Stop Pollution Movement praised the city's residents, “We salute every citizen who joined this historic uprising—culminating in the general strike of Oct. 21, 2025, when more than 100,000 people united around one clear demand: dismantle the chemical units.”
The Gabès Chemical Complex, which produces more than 57% of Tunisia’s national phosphoric acid for fertilizers and heavy industry, has long been blamed for devastating pollution along Gabès’ coastline.
Environmental organizations have directly linked the site to rising rates of respiratory illness, cancer, and skeletal diseases among residents.
“There is one school next to the power plant. On Oct. 4, four schoolchildren died,” Ben-Faraj revealed to Al Manassa, “This is happening more frequently.”
The complex was established 53 years ago by the Tunisian government and includes processing units that convert phosphate into sulfuric and phosphoric acid, generating phosphogypsum—a byproduct notorious for containing radioactive materials and heavy metals. The site remains under tight military and police protection.
The government had pledged to halt the dumping of phosphogypsum into the sea and committed to replacing obsolete factories with new, environmentally compliant facilities.
However, residents say those promises remain broken. Toxic waste continues to be discharged into the sea, devastating marine life and exposing coastal communities to intensifying environmental and health risks.
Tensions escalated again in March 2025, when authorities quietly removed phosphogypsum from the list of hazardous waste—triggering widespread outrage. Locals saw the move as a deliberate rollback of previously announced safety commitments.
The governorate now lives under what residents describe as “unbearable” conditions. Children and adults report recurring episodes of suffocation, chronic respiratory distress, and other illnesses directly linked to exposure from the complex’s emissions, Ben-Faraj revealed to Al Manassa.
Environmentalists argue that Tunisia’s failure to act underscores a broader pattern of state neglect toward the marginalized southern regions, and reflects a systemic disregard for environmental justice. Gabès—once known for its fertile oases and rich fishing culture—has become a national symbol of extractive exploitation and abandonment.
“We are saying, through this protest, we will not step down until our demands are met,” Ben-Faraj asserts to Al Manassa.
