Category: opinion

The state of European security may dramatically worsen in 2017 if the worrying trends of 2016 continue. Observers should watch for four big and consistent problems. The first area in which Europe still flounders is its response to security threats. It is reasonable to assume that jihadist terrorism in Europe will continue to increase, as the self-proclaimed Islamic State has singled out the United Kingdom, France, and especially Germany as its preferred European targets. But governments’ current pattern of relying on intelligence services, police, and interior ministries to tackle the…

How has Tunisia prepared for the return of Tunisian terrorists from areas of tension? This is a controversial issue that has been widely echoed by the Tunisian and foreign media in recent weeks. Opinions are divided between those who oppose it arguing that this constitutes “a real danger to national and regional security” and those who defend the right of any Tunisian to return to his country, in accordance with the Constitution. For the latter, Tunisian terrorists returning to the country must be brought before the Tunisian justice. More than…

More people died crossing the Mediterranean to seek better lives in the EU in 2016 than ever before. Despite widespread search and rescue efforts, over 4,600 people perished after leaving from north Africa and Turkey. It is a figure that shames the EU and one that challenges a long-held narrative that Europe is a beacon for its treatment of refugees and respect for human rights. Instead, EU policies on migration, asylum, border control and security have exposed deep political rifts among member states, as the concept of solidarity becomes ever…

  Despite the study finding that 75 per cent of young Tunisians are aware of the problems faced by illegal immigrants in Europe, it revealed that 45.2 per cent between the ages of 18 and 34 want to make the journey. Forty-one per cent of respondents said they are aware of Tunisia’s laws on the topic of illegal migration, in particular that emigrating illegally is a criminal act. While 57 per cent of youths in Tunisia call for illegal migration to be decriminalised, arguing that moving to Europe is the…

The hearing sessions with the minister of interior and the minister of foreign affairs and the facts revealed behind the assassination of martyr engineer Mohamed Zouari as well as the Berlin attack have been the most important events happened last week. In addition to that, an inner cabinet meeting was held in Tunis and a Libyan aircraft was kidnapped. All these events are interpreted by historian Khaled Abid. He  thinks that anti-normalization of relations with Israel should not be a debatable  topic because all Tunisians share the same opinion about…

Three students from Congo were harshly attacked in a metro station in Tunis because of their black skin. This incident renews the debate over whether racism in tunisia is a real issue or simply a fake problem raised by activists to draw the attention to some rare isolated cases of aggression against blacks in Tunisa. In fact, after the Revolution, Tunisian activists started discussing problems that used to be a taboo. Among these issues, black segregation.  In the past,  Tunisians pretended to be unified but reality proved the opposite. In…

The so-called Islamic State rushed to claim responsibility for last week’s Christmas market attack in Berlin, even with the alleged terrorist Anis Amri then on the run. (The 24-year-old Tunisian was killed a few days later in Milan.) The jihadist group’s eagerness to cash in the propaganda chips is only one indication of how important it was and remains for ISIL to score a hit against Germany — especially after a string of aborted or limited attacks. Germany stands at the very core of ISIL’s strategy for Europe. It’s important to understand why in…

As you celebrate the Christmas season and New Year and reflect back on 2016, how can you turn 2017 into a year of on-going career success? By creating a career strategic plan. Someone once said, “Success is the intersection of preparation and opportunity.” Achieving success requires more than luck, more than hard work – it requires a plan. Here’s how. In the mirror. Begin by seeing yourself as a competitive product. Take inventory of your strengths, weaknesses and differentiators, and then challenge yourself by facing any weaknesses and making improvements. What…

The story of how Anis Amri, the chief suspect in the Christmas Market attack in Berlin this week, went from Tunisian school dropout to fugitive killed by Milan police in a shootout yesterday yet again casts an uncomfortable spotlight on a country hailed as the only success story of what became known as the Arab Spring. The question of why Tunisia, largely known before the 2011 revolution for its Mediterranean resorts and since as a poster child for a successful – albeit fragile – transition from dictatorship to democracy, has…