Tunisia’s bad economy hits coeliac sufferers with rice shortage

Siwar Derbeli, an 18-year-old Tunisian with coeliac disease, stands with her mother, Hasna Arfaoui, as they prepare a gluten-free pasta meal in their kitchen, in Tunis, Tunisia August 30, 2023. (REUTERS)
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Updated 05 September 2023
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Tunisia’s bad economy hits coeliac sufferers with rice shortage

  • The government has denied that shortages are due to the crisis in public finances, with talks for a foreign bailout stalled and credit ratings agencies warning that Tunisia may default on sovereign debt

TUNIS: For Siwar Derbeli a national rice shortage is not just another inconvenient symptom of Tunisia’s stretched national finances but a source of hunger because the coeliac disease she suffers from means it is one of the few staples she can comfortably eat.
Shortages of imported goods sold at subsidised rates have been increasing in Tunisia since last year, with wheat, sugar, cooking oil and dairy products periodically disappearing from supermarket shelves along with some medicines.
Although rice is not the most common staple in Tunisia, where bread, pasta and couscous are more frequently eaten, its lack of gluten makes it indispensable for the country’s estimated 100,000 people with coeliac disease — an autoimmune condition that prompts a dangerous response to gluten.




Monji ben Hriz, president of the Tunisian Association for Coeliac Disease, attends an interview with Reuters in Tunis, Tunisia August 29, 2023. (REUTERS)

“You come home and can’t find the basic food you need to eat. It’s a very unfortunate situation,” said Derbeli, 18.
Her mother, Hasna Arfaoui, was cooking Derbeli’s evening meal with expensive gluten-free pasta that is hard to afford for Arfaoui, an unemployed widow with three children who used to work as a cleaner.
“We have been facing difficulties with her diet, and it has been very tiring for us. The specialized food she needs is expensive and we often struggle to afford it. Basic ingredients like rice are missing,” she said.




A view shows rice for donation at the headquarters of Tunisian Association for Coeliac Disease, in Tunis, Tunisia August 29, 2023. (REUTERS)

The government has denied that shortages are due to the crisis in public finances, with talks for a foreign bailout stalled and credit ratings agencies warning that Tunisia may default on sovereign debt.
However, economists, political analysts and Tunisia’s influential labor union have all said the government is delaying or stopping imports of subsidised goods to help cope with a $5 billion budget deficit despite public hardship.
Monji ben Hriz, president of the Tunisian Association for Coeliac Disease, said no ship was due to offload rice until December and that state-held stocks had already run out.
Some privately imported rice is available, but at a much higher cost that is prohibitive for many Tunisians.
“People are now enduring real difficulties sourcing rice and there are those who have changed their diet for this reason, jeopardizing their health,” he said.

 


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Palestinian health ministry says 4 killed in Israeli West Bank strike

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The ministry announced that the Palestinians were killed “as a result of the (Israeli) bombing of a vehicle in Tulkarem camp,” which the Israeli army did not immediately confirm to AFP.


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Updated 19 December 2024
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Turkiye, Iran leaders at Muslim summit in Cairo

  • Relations between Egypt and Iran have been strained for decades, but diplomatic contacts have intensified since Cairo became a mediator in the war in Gaza

CAIRO: The leaders of Turkiye and Iran were in Egypt on Thursday for a summit of eight Muslim-majority countries, meeting for the first time since the ouster of Syria’s president Bashar Assad.
Turkiye historically backed the opposition to Assad, while Iran supported his rule.
The gathering of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, also known as the Developing-8, was being held against a backdrop of regional turmoil including the conflict in Gaza, a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon and unrest in Syria.
In a speech to the summit, Turkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for unity and reconciliation in Syria, urging “the restoration of Syria’s territorial integrity and unity.”
He also voiced hope for “the establishment of a Syria free of terrorism,” where “all religious sects and ethnic groups live side by side in peace.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged action to address the crises in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, saying that it is a “religious, legal and human duty to prevent further harm” to those suffering in these conflict zones.
Pezeshkian, who arrived in Cairo on Wednesday, is the first Iranian president to visit Egypt since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who visited in 2013.
Relations between Egypt and Iran have been strained for decades, but diplomatic contacts have intensified since Cairo became a mediator in the war in Gaza.
Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi visited Egypt in October, while his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty traveled to Tehran in July to attend Pezeshkian’s inauguration.
Ahead of the summit, the Iranian top diplomat said he hoped it would “send a strong message to the world that the Israeli aggressions and violations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria” would end “immediately.”
Erdogan was in Egypt earlier this year, and discussed with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi economic cooperation as well as regional conflicts.
Established in 1997, the D-8 aims to foster cooperation among member states, spanning regions from Southeast Asia to Africa.
The organization includes Egypt, Turkiye, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia as member states.


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Updated 19 December 2024
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Iraq begins repatriating Syrian soldiers amid border security assurances

DUBAI: Iraq has begun the process of returning Syrian soldiers to their home country, according to state media reports on Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. Qais Al-Muhammadawi, deputy commander of joint operations, emphasized the robust security measures in place along Iraq’s borders with Syria.

“Our borders are fortified and completely secure,” he said, declaring that no unauthorized crossings would be permitted.

Muhammadawi said that all border crossings with Syria are under tight control, stating: “We will not allow a terrorist to enter our territory.”


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Updated 19 December 2024
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Turkiye won’t halt Syria military activity until Kurd fighters ‘disarm’

ISTANBUL: Turkiye will push ahead with its military preparations until Kurdish fighters “disarm,” a defense ministry source said Thursday as the nation faces an ongoing threat along its border with northern Syria.
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Updated 19 December 2024
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Hamas says Israeli strikes in Yemen ‘dangerous development’

GAZA: Palestinian militant group Hamas said Thursday that Israel’s strikes in Yemen after the Houthi rebels fired a missile at the country were a “dangerous development.”
“We regard this escalation as a dangerous development and an extension of the aggression against our Palestinian people, Syria and the Arab region,” Hamas said in a statement as Israel struck ports and energy infrastructure in Yemen after intercepting a missile attack by the Houthis.