Tunisia to retrieve 4-year-old migrant child from Italy

TUNIS, Tunisia

Tunisia said Wednesday it will seek to retrieve a four-year-old child, who arrived in Italy on a migrant boat alone.

In a statement, Tunisia’s Ministry of Women, Family, Children, and Seniors said authorities are keen to take “all necessary arrangements to secure the child’s return to the homeland.”

The four-year-old girl had arrived in Italy last week aboard a migrant boat alone, without her parents or relatives.

Initial investigations showed that the whole family – including the girl's father, mother, and seven-year-old sister – were supposed to make the journey to Italy with other migrants from the Tunisian city of Sayada near Monastir.

However, the father handed his daughter over to a smuggler on the boat and went to help his wife and daughter. By the time he returned to the boat, it had already set out on its journey, arriving later at the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Tunisian authorities have arrested the girl’s parents, accusing them of "entering into an agreement to cross a border illegally and neglecting the affairs of a minor.”

For years, North African countries such as Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, and Morocco have witnessed attempts by migrants – mainly from sub-Saharan Africa – to reach Europe, hoping for a better life. While some of the migrants manage to reach their destination, others often die during the journey.

According to Tunisian authorities, over 20,000 irregular migrants had been arrested in 2021.

Tunisia said it had intercepted 1,509 irregular migration attempts toward Italy since the start of this year.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report.