Beyond Economic Interests: Unveiling the Lives of Workers in Tunisia's Colonial Mining Industry
The Institute of Contemporary Maghreb Research (Irmc) is hosting a discussion event today, Thursday, May 21st at 5:30 PM, centered around historian Zeineb Mejri's book "From the History of the Forgotten in Colonial Tunisia: Metal Mines and Miners (1881-1956)". This event will feature a dialogue between history, visual arts, and visual arts, bringing together artist Bochra Taboubi and historian Inès Delpuech, a Ph.D. student in contemporary history.
Through this publication, Zeineb Mejri takes readers on a journey into a long-marginalized aspect of Tunisian social history: the lives of metal mine workers during the French protectorate period. The book sheds light on how the mining industry became a cornerstone of the colonial economy between 1881 and 1956, attracting significant foreign capital and integrating Tunisia into the global capitalist system through the extraction of lead, zinc, and iron.
However, beyond economic interests, the study focuses on the men and women who bore the brunt of this industry's harsh conditions. Low wages, physically demanding work, lack of social protection, and deep inequalities with European workers characterized the daily lives of this new working class born from the colonial system.
The researcher also highlights how the mining industry transformed the interior regions of Tunisia, creating mining villages, developing railway and port infrastructure, and introducing certain healthcare and education services. While these transformations are undeniable, Zeineb Mejri argues that they should not obscure the logic of human and natural resource exhaustion that underpinned the colonial extractive economy.
By combining historical reflection and artistic approach, this event aims to question the memory of the forgotten in Tunisia's colonial history while opening a discussion on the preservation of mining heritage as an essential component of national memory.
Event Details:
- Date: Thursday, May 21st
- Time: 5:30 PM
- Location: Institute of Contemporary Maghreb Research (Irmc)
- Speakers: Zeineb Mejri, historian; Bochra Taboubi, visual artist; Inès Delpuech, Ph.D. student in contemporary history
