Picture by Nadir Bouhmouch. Some rights reserved. Gabes used to be called "paradise on earth" before a chemical industrial complex was constructed on its shores to process the phosphate from the mining basin of Gafsa in the 1970s.
The factories have inflicted a toxic reality of pollution, decimated flora and fauna and plundered water affecting every layer of the community’s social fabric, especially those who are on the front line of poverty. Fishermen saw their catch decrease significantly in the past few years and witnessed how biodiversity has been severely affected by the amount of waste the factory is pumping directly in the sea. Subsistence farmers are also deeply affected as their agriculture fails to survive water shortages and the gas emissions of the industrial complex that kill some of the plants before they yield ripe fruits.
To learn more about "Paradises of the Earth", visit the website now: http://www.paradisesoftheearth.com/
Part 1: Gabes - قابس (English subtitles) from Paradises of the Earth on Vimeo.
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