Oct
7
A Siege of Salt and Sand
October 7, 2023 | | 2 Comments
Climate change has left a lasting impact on environments across the world. The film A Siege of Salt and Sand, primarily focuses on the struggles Tunisia has faced as a result of the ongoing climate crisis. Tunisia’s been facing rising sea levels, decreases in fish to catch, and growing desert. With the transition of government from a dictatorship to democracy that was going on at the time, polices defending against the climate crisis were scarce given that the previous leader saw environmental issues as fake. And it didn’t help that the Tunisian government primarily focused on economic recovery following the governmental transition, completely ignoring the ongoing environmental issues.
Tunisia’s onslaught of issues vastly impacted its citizens in more than one way. Bad systems of irrigation affected crop growth and agriculture, leaving citizens with very little to sell or eat. New diseases like the Leishmaniasis parasite, which was once rare, began to spread. Tunisian citizens once saw the ocean as a great friend, but it no longer provided much sustenance with fish and due to the rising sea levels over 65% of date palms had died. According to one of the people interviewed “the sea is unknown now”, while it could give you fish one day, the next it could attack someones house and submerge it under water. Entire areas like Djerba are no longer seen the same, while once fruitful and green, it’s now dry and arid. Furthermore, citizens also faced issues with the sand and wind. Sand encroachments have been drowning entire homes. This has affected fertile land, schooling, and transportation/movement. One solution to that as mentioned in the film was artificial sand dunes but a lot of work is needed for that. And on top if that the price of water continued to rise.
However, it is important to note that Tunisia formed a new constitution on January 27th of 2014, after much debate. It became the third country after Ecuador and the Dominican Republic to include climate change in their constitution. But that doesn’t solve the problem immediately, if ever. Issues have gotten to the point of no return, where policy can now only do so much. Nonetheless it’s a step in the right direction. Citizens now know at least that they can see policies which actually can prove beneficial and helpful to their demands and needs. And there is now an understand that climate change is a genuine issue within society and that domestically there measures which can be taken to aid in these issues.
Comments
2 Comments so far
Did this documentary help you interpret other course materials, or change how you understood something we discussed in class?
I do think it somewhat changed how I understood what I learned about in class with regards to the issues Tunisia faces. I believe that it broadened my perspective on the individual level with regards to the struggles faced by citizens of the country. Also, there was a large emphasis on the environmental effects that Tunisia faces which I think is extremely important and valuable to understand given the effects it has both on a political perspective but also in relation to its citizens. I think in that sense it did help me interpret certain aspects of Tunisia’s policies and political regime.