Between exclusion and inclusion: the Ghbonton renegotiation of traditional roles in contemporary Tunisia

In post-revolutionary Tunisia some across-North-Africa myths have collapsed and made way for a renewed sentiment of aversion and discrimination against minorities. Former dictator Ben Ali, like other Arab leaders promulgating a deep modernization, secularization, and westernization of their countries, propagated an embellished image of Tunisia where stability and peace would reign. Nevertheless, discrimination based on skin color targeted mostly Black Tunisians, unmasking the bitter reality of dark-skinned citizens still bearing the legacy of slavery. Tunisians still use the word wassif or abid to refer to Blacks, Arabic terms semantically connected to slavery. This paper aims at analyzing this racial stigmatization in the form of geographical marginalization and social segregation at the lowest ladders of society, and the quest for emancipation and recognition of Black communities through a renewed political discourse. The Ghbonton, an ethnic group living in the Southern Governorate of Medenine, embody this exclusion. Their region, at the border with Libya, has always been a transit and exchange area, but this community has started only recently to negotiate its social position. Traditionally involved in the preparation of weddings, including a musical performance called Tayfa, their recent political activism interacted with the renegotiation of these traditional roles, since the execution of this accompaniment to the ceremonies perpetrates, in their eyes, a form of servile attitude towards the Whites. This situation has been complicated by the newly arrived asylum-seekers who fled the war in Libya, and forced the population to rethink concepts like skin color, citizenship, religious belonging, exclusion, and inclusion.