Writing from a personal perspective, Tunisian journalist Hajar Abidi exposes the devastating health and environmental crisis in Gabes, where a phosphate chemical complex has suffocated the region for 50 years. She shares the story of Manal, a young woman who lost her father to cancer, a disease that haunts nearly every family in her area. The article details severe water impacts: the complex drills deep wells that disrupt the local oasis’ water system and dumps 16,000 tons of toxic phosphogypsum waste into the Gulf of Gabes daily. This has caused sea desertification that destroys whale habitats and vital Neptune grass marine forests, known as the lungs of the Mediterranean. While activists demand the plant’s closure, this article highlights a woman-led scientific solution from Dr. Nabila Al-Meshi whose research proves the toxic waste can be safely recycled into valuable materials. Despite this viable solution, official reluctance continues to leave the women and their communities to suffer the consequences of fossil fuels within their poisoned paradise.
