Dozens were transferred to hospitals in Gabès, Tunisia, amid an environmental crisis Environment News

A local official says more than 120 people have been hospitalized in the city amid rising cases of respiratory problems.

Dozens were taken to hospitals in the southern Tunisia city of Gabes, where residents blamed pollution from a nearby chemical plant for causing shortness of breath and other health problems.

The state-run Tunisian News Agency reported that children suffering from breathing difficulties due to the fumes were admitted to the University Hospital in Gabes on Tuesday.

Recommended stories

List of 3 itemsEnd of list

Agence France-Presse quoted a local official as saying that more than 120 people were taken to hospital in the city, while Diwan FM radio quoted an educational official as saying that dozens of students were hospitalized.

Deputy Director of Local Defense, Ghofran Touati, said that in addition to respiratory problems, some patients suffer from “leg pain, numbness, and loss of the ability to move.”

One resident, Tawfiq Dhifallah, said that his little sister was “suffocating because of the fumes” emanating from the city’s industrial zone. “This happens every two or three days.”

The recent hospitalizations are part of a spike in reported cases of respiratory problems that residents blame on fumes emanating from the headquarters of the Tunisian Phosphate Chemical Group – a site that authorities pledged to gradually close in 2017 but have yet to follow through on.

Protests

Years of frustration over the site’s emissions erupted on October 11, when residents stormed the complex demanding it be closed.

“Gabes has turned into a city of death, people are struggling to breathe, and many residents are suffering from cancer or osteoporosis due to severe pollution,” Khairuddin Dabaya, one of the demonstrators, told Reuters news agency.

Reuters reported that the protest turned violent when police fired tear gas and chased the demonstrators through the city streets. Some protesters attempted to set fire to a branch office of the CGT administration, while others blocked roads in the city, according to local media.

The local council of Gabès said on Sunday that it supports the “legitimate” demands of the protesters and called for “the dismantling of polluting chemical factories,” while also criticizing “acts of sabotage and violence.”

The Tunisian League for Human Rights also supported the demonstrators and called for “the dismantling of polluting units and the establishment of an alternative regional development model to slow death and pollution.”

The protests confirm their escalation Pressure on the government of President Kais SaiedIt is already suffering from a deep economic and financial crisis, in order to balance public health requirements with the production of phosphate, Tunisia’s most valuable natural resource.

In an attempt to calm public anger, Saied met late Saturday with the ministers of environment and energy, urging them to send delegations to Gabès to make the necessary repairs to the phosphate acid unit at the complex. He said he wanted “a green Tunisia free of all pollution.”

Phosphate is Tunisia’s main natural resource, but activists have been warning for years about pollution caused by the Tunisian Gulf region, which disposes of its gaseous and solid waste. Directly to the environment.

In 2017, the authorities pledged to dismantle the Gabès complex and replace it with a facility that meets international standards, recognizing that its emissions pose a danger to local residents. However, the plan has not yet been implemented.

Meanwhile, the Tunisian government aims to revive the phosphate industry by increasing production five-fold to 14 million tons by 2030 to capitalize on growing global demand.