JHR-trained journalist sparks change for agricultural workers after 4 years of government inaction in Tunisia
Tunis Afrique Presse journalist Kawthar Chebbi, who received training from JHR鈥檚 UNDEF-funded project in Tunisia and reported on the death of 12 women agricultural workers after the malfunction of their unsafe work transport in the Sidi Bouzid governate in 2019, recently began follow-up reporting on the local government鈥檚 slow and inadequate response to the tragic and avoidable incident.
Four years after the incident, the situation for agricultural workers remained the same, Chebbi wrote. Due to extreme poverty, workers were forced to risk their lives on unsafe vehicles to travel to and from the fields where they worked. Chebbi called for the government鈥檚 sustained investment in underdeveloped areas and said one-off projects do not lead to economic empowerment of any region.
Her reporting prompted a commitment from the Minister of Women, Family, Childhood and the Elderly (pictured above) to invest in multiple neglected areas, including the improvement of working conditions for agricultural workers. The Minister announced a series of measures, including a new allowance for Sidi Bouzid families in need, better transport and the creation of a basic health center, adding that these measures will receive long-term funding.
