Cross border trade with Libya hit by taxes and uncertainty

• published: 03 Aug 2015
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Residents of the Tunisian city of Ben Guerdane say their livelihood is being affected because of a lack of government investment and Libya's ongoing conflict. The town is a centre of cross border trade with Libya and locals say they can no longer operate like they used to. Locked-up shops and deserted streets that were once packed with shoppers. This is the new reality of life in Ben Guerdane - a city of around 80,000 people just 32 kilometre's (19 miles) from Libya's border. It's well known for bringing goods across the border from Libya and selling them cheaply in Tunisia. But things are changing, and locals say it's for the worse. One of the main border crossings with Libya, Ben Guerdane's economy is closely linked to it's neighbouring country. Even the market's name, 'Market Libya' shows the importance of ties between the two nations. But Libya is in chaos, split between two rival parliaments and Islamic militias - including extremists from the Islamic State - looking to assert control. Hundreds of thousands of Libyans have been displaced and entire cities and towns have been left in ruins. The deteriorating security situation in Libya has hit the local community of Ben Guerdane hard. The city depends on cross-border trade. Alongside this, many local residents also believe the Tunisian government has sidelined the region - in favour of investing in the bigger more profitable cities in the north. Tunisia's unemployment rate stands at over 15 percent, while inflation stood at around 5.5 percent in January. Dhaou Teyeb graduated with a degree in physics and chemistry six years ago. Like the other 6,000 unemployed graduates of the area, he hasn't been able to find a job - and is now making ends meet working in an electronics shop. "After years of marginalisation of the south-east, and now that the security situation in Libya is deteriorating, it has a direct impact on the economic and social situation of Ben Guerdane. People from the region have no other resources than the trade with Libya," he says. Trade between the two countries also worsened after Tunisia last year created a tax on foreigners crossing the border. Libya has implemented its own version of the tax. It's put locals in a difficult position: many depend on an informal economy and smuggling to make ends meet. Smuggling goods between the borders makes up as much as 50 percent of business dealings in the areas, according to locals. Many residents say life in the four years since the country's 2011 revolution is now harder. "Before, the government was somehow tolerant with people from the region, and the life was made a bit easier," says Dhaou Teyeb. "Now, we all complain of the harshness of the security position of the government and its way to act with people here, as shopkeepers don't make any more money because taxes are more important than revenues." Last week, residents staged a protest at the Ras Ajdir crossing point, blocking the road and calling for an end to economic marginalisation. "Our first demand is not to open Ras Ajdir, it's the development", says Lazhar Akrout, a Law graduate who says he has been unemployed for 11 years. "That's the priority. The crossing point of Ras Ajdir is secondary, even if of course it's essential for the region," he says. Many wish they did not have to solely rely on the border's economy. "The problem for residents of Ben Guerdane is that they get up, take their car, go to Libya and bring back gas. They can't find any work or any respectable resource, nothing at all," says Badii Gtet, an architect from the town. Gtet says nothing changes, despite protesting almost every year. He says the community feels let down from both Tunisia and Libya. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/bbb854d69a96d8ae67c47156ab2e416c Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork