Having pinned their hopes on the cement factory to save them from poverty and unemployment, the people of the village of Rwessat in Kairouan Governorate in central Tunisia are now suffering from toxic materials resulting from the factory, the only investment in their area.

Having pinned their hopes on the cement factory to save them from poverty and unemployment, the people of the village of Rwessat in Kairouan Governorate in central Tunisia are now suffering from toxic materials resulting from the factory, the only investment in their area.

Daw Khulaifi, an old man, lives in a ramshackle house in the village of Rwessat. He was dismissed from the cement factory because he had protested the harsh working conditions. When the factory was about to be constructed, Khulaifi, like most villagers, sold his agricultural land to the factory, but today they all regret it.

Pollution and unemployment

The deteriorating conditions of Khulaifi’s family, like that of other villagers, forced him to accept the sustained operation of the polluting factory on the condition that it would employ a member of each poor family. Although years ago Khulaifi became a local symbol of struggle when he walked around the village every day to mobilize villagers against the factory’s black smoke and toxic materials that damaged crops. Despite the restrictions he has faced, he still pressures the factory to reduce pollution and employ villagers.

Khulaifi’s large family has many unemployed members. “The residents of my village should have priority in terms of employment in this only factory to save them from migration and delinquency,” he says.

Khulaifi sold his land to the factory on the condition that it would employ him and his children. Indeed, he was hired as a guard. In less than two years, however, he was pensioned off and then he found himself in prison because he protested against the factory.

Disappointment

With Swiss and German investment of US$ 70 million, the factory was constructed prior to the Tunisian revolution. Most villagers sold huge areas of land to the factory, hoping that their children would get a job there. While considered the most pollutant and depleting of natural resources, the factory, however, only employs 150 people. Thus, the dream has turned into a nightmare where the factory, located on agricultural land in the vicinity of residential areas, has forced many to leave the village due to pollution.

The area witnessed several labour protests, most recently during the past month, to demand better working conditions in the factory, payment of grants and occupational prevention. Everyone complains about the mounting pollution, the cracked walls of their homes, and the depletion of water resources because wells have been drilled, causing declined water levels. However, the manager of the factory only threatens shutting it down and leaving the country.

Agricultural damage

“Olive trees have become dry because of the toxic gases produced by the factory,” says Sayed Waslati, a 44 year-old villager.

Although he works at the factory in putting petroleum coke inside the oven, he says he has incurred significant economic and health consequences due to pollution. “I suffer from shortness of breath and throat irritation because of the harsh working conditions inside the factory,” he says.

Waslati argues that he has no other choice to provide for his family in light of the deteriorating social situation in his region.

Financial difficulties

“The cement factory operates according to European standards,” says Macci Hnachi, the factory’s manager. “The factory produces no pollution since it is endorsed by all monitoring institutions. Although the factory gives priority to the employment of the people of the area, it suffers financial difficulties due to labour strikes and sit-ins that have almost caused it to be shut down.”