{"id":1069,"date":"2023-10-11T22:48:58","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T20:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\/bouteilles-a-la-mer\/"},"modified":"2025-03-28T09:06:32","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T08:06:32","slug":"bouteilles-a-la-mer","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\/en\/","title":{"rendered":"Message in a Bottle"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/layla_tunisie-1000.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the womb of suffering comes activism. Look at me, look at us. The silence of our children weighs us down, the silence of the state crushes us. Carry our voices across the sea<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> <br \/>Portrait of Laila Akik, a Tunisian activist at a demonstration, holding a photo of her son Youssef, who disappeared at sea on 31-7-2020. He was last seen at sea in a difficult position by one of the two survivors of the shipwreck.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In his last phone call, Youssef was 20 kilometers from Italy. <em>\u201cI can see the island of Pantelliera, m\u00fam.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/DSC00954-copia.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bouteilles \u00e0 la Mer<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> made with Laila Akik for her son Youssef. Leila wrote this letter as if it had been written by her son Youssef Saidana. <em>\u00a0<br \/><\/em><\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Letter: \u201cOur country despised us and forced us to emigrate, and to die we were sent alive. Forgive me, m\u00fam, forgive me the pain of separation and the pain of longing. You did not see me getting married, and I wasn\u2019t buried like everyone else. About your troubles and misery, you know well, m\u00fam, in our country we are not allowed to realize our dreams. But death came and took me, in the form of a sea wave that entombed me \u2014My dear m\u00fam, only one last wish: do not forget me and see me in every Tunisian young man and girl, and be a fighter, so we have justice, equality and freedom for our future generations. Dad, take care of my loving mother and brothers. Protect them. Finally, greet Tunisia and tell her I love her, no matter how much she suffers and how many times I die.\u201d\u00a0<br \/><\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In June 2023, Youssef&#8217;s body was found in Zarzis buried at the Jardin d&#8217;Afrique de Zarzis Memorial cemetery after the exhumation of multiple graves linked to the contentious and widely media-covered shipwreck of September 18, 2022. The bottle Layla used is thought to come from a shipwreck and is now housed within the Zarzis Sea Memory Museum. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 6\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/5.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tunisia (Sfax &#8211; Ouled Msallem), 30-08-2022. <br \/>Souad Ben Sassi wrote the letter for her bottle at her home in Oulad Msallem, the main place for the sea crossings. On 11 March 2011, Bader, aged 30, set sail for Italy in a fisherman\u2019s boat with other Tunisians. He left his mother and 5 brothers and sisters behind. In her heart, Bader is still alive, but 12 years later, after a relentless struggle to find her son, doubts arise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/DSC00868-copia.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\u0628\u062f\u0631 \u064a\u0627 \u063a\u0627\u0644\u064a \u0645\u0646 \u064a\u0648\u0645 \u0631\u062d\u0644\u062a . \u0648 \u0627\u0646\u0627 \u0641\u064a \u0627\u0646\u062a\u0636\u0627\u0631\u0643 \u0645\u0646\u0633\u064a\u062a\u0643\u0634 \u0648 \u0645\u0634 \u0628\u0634 \u0646\u0646\u0633\u0627\u0643. \u0645\u0646 \u0628\u0639\u062f \u0645\u0627 \u0627\u0644\u0628\u062d\u0631 \u0645\u0646\u064a \u062e\u0630\u0627\u0643 \u062e\u0644\u0627\u0646\u064a \u062d\u0627\u064a\u0631\u0647 . \u062d\u0632\u064a\u0646\u0647 . \u0643\u0628\u062f\u064a \u0645\u0634\u0648\u064a\u0647 . \u0628\u062f\u0631 \u064a\u0627 \u063a\u0627\u0644\u064a \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0627 \u0631\u0648\u062d\u064a \u0628\u0639\u062f\u0643 \u0647\u0627\u0646\u062a \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0627 . \u0648 \u0645\u0627\u0632\u0644\u062a \u0645\u0633\u062a\u0646\u064a\u0647 \u0628\u062f\u0631 . \u0643\u064a\u0641\u0627\u0634 \u0646\u0633\u0627\u0646\u064a \u0645\u0634\u0627 \u0648 \u062e\u0644\u0627\u0646\u064a <br \/>\u062e\u0644\u0627\u0646\u064a \u0641\u064a \u062d\u0632\u0646 \u0648 \u0645\u0631\u0627\u0631\u0647 \u0645\u0631\u0627\u0631\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u0628\u0639\u062f \u0646\u0639\u0627\u0646\u064a \u0644\u0644\u0623\u0633\u0641 \u0627\u0643\u062a\u0628 \u0647\u0630\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u0631\u0633\u0627\u0644\u0629 \u0648 \u0627\u0642\u0648\u0644 \u0627\u0645\u0643 \u062a\u062d\u0628\u0643 \u0628\u0631\u0634\u0627<\/p>\n<p>\u0631\u0633\u0627\u0644\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0628\u0646\u064a \u0639\u0628\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u0628\u062d\u0631<\/p>\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 9\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bouteille \u00e0 la Mer<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> made with Souad Ben Sassi for his son Bader. <br \/><\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMy dear Bader, since you left, I have been waiting for you, I didn\u2019t forget you and I won\u2019t forget you. After the sea caught you, I remain sorrowful. My liver and my faith are burning too*. My dear Bader, my soul is worthless. I ask myself: Where is Bader? Why did you leave? How could you let me go through this suffering? It\u2019s Valentine\u2019s Day, I am writing this letter to tell you Bader, that your mother loves you. (Letter to my son that pierces the sea<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.)\u201d.\u00a0<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*Popular Tunisian saying to express pain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/DSC04279-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tunisia (Tunis), 12-6-2023.\u00a0 <br \/>Dalila, the wife of Basset Hamdi, who vanished on September 6, 2012. Dalila is a key figure in La Terre Pour Tous Association and a tireless activist. For more than a decade now, she has been caring for three kids while her husband&#8217;s been missing. As a single mother with a non-deceased husband, she&#8217;s legally unable to access aid, rebuild, or make decisions. <br \/>Her plea: <strong>a certificate recognizing the reality of sea disappearances. She is seen here participating in the <\/strong><\/span><strong>demonstration in front of the National Theater of Tunisia.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/DSC02885-copia.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bouteille \u00e0 la Mer<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> made with Dalila Basset for her husband. <br \/>&#8220;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I&#8217;m scared because Yassin, your son, wants to make the crossing like you did. But I&#8217;m not going to let him. I pray that God will give me strength<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;. <br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Basset Hamdi was her true love, a husband she took of her own volition. They were married against the will of her parents. Dalila supports herself by working occasionally (cleaning houses and doing henna body decorations for weddings). <br \/>She is alone, and afraid that one of her three sons might also take the dangerous journey. Dalila lives in a perpetual limbo, in a sort of fictional marriage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/DSC01015.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tunisia (Mourouj -Tunis), 23-10-2023. <br \/>Skander Othmani\u2019s family portrait at home. Skander vanished with friends secretly. His mother, Mongia, looks for him tirelessly. <br \/>&#8220;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We&#8217;ve done everything \u2014complaints, lawyers, searches, reaching out to authorities. It&#8217;s like Skander never existed. Sometimes I doubt it myself \u2014if I hadn&#8217;t seen photos of him on that boat, I&#8217;d think he never left.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8221; Since Skander&#8217;s departure, Mongia wears black, mourning without closure. Younger siblings hope to reunite with their big brother and the mother they know.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/DSC03005-copia.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bouteille \u00e0 la Mer<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> made with Mongia Othmani. Monjia has given me a USB that contains all the research carried out to find Skander. There are videos at sea of Skander in no difficulty, photos in a detention center in Italy, selfies of Skander with his friends, and the Facebook profile of the boat&#8217;s captain. All these efforts to find him have come to nothing because there is no one willing to listen and understand. Metaphorically, Monjia pulls in water from this research. <br \/>Faced with this void, she conjures up the worst imaginable scenarios: <br \/>&#8220;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I imagine him alive, I imagine him dead, I imagine him eaten by fish, I imagine him in a mountain, I imagine him dead, I imagine him dead. I imagine him in a mountain, I imagine him in prison, I imagine him being tortured, I imagine him in people&#8217;s homes&#8230;<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/BADER-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tunisia (Enfidha), 4-4-2023. Portrait of Bader Eddine Hssine&#8217;s family in their living room. I visited them accompanied by Wael Garnaouia, a psychoanalyst and a specialist in the irregular migrations of Tunisians. On 27 July 2022, Bader, their son, and 4 friends went to Europe in kayaks. Since then, there has been no news. The conversation was filmed:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Leila Salah<\/strong>: &#8220;Do you want to know the day I&#8217;ll remember for the rest of my life? It&#8217;s the day when my son called me to say, &#8216;Hello, Mom!&#8217;, as he used to when he worked at the factory, calling before arriving home. He repeated &#8216;Badr! Badr!&#8217; twice. Always. I want to hear his voice even through a phone! I just want to know if my son is alive. I don&#8217;t need anything else. Not money, nothing. I swear&#8230; Tell me lies. I need to be lied to, even though deep down, I know it&#8217;s not true&#8230; I need to believe in this lie. It&#8217;s my refuge, my remedy.<br \/><\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Wael Garnaoui<\/strong>: I empathize. There&#8217;s nothing harder than what you&#8217;re going through. It&#8217;s because you haven&#8217;t experienced things as they&#8217;re supposed to be. When a person loses a loved one &#8211; and I sincerely hope Badr is not dead -:::<br \/><\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Belgacem Hssine<\/strong>: INSHALLAH<br \/><\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Wael Garnaoui<\/strong>: &#8230; They go through different stages. At first, it&#8217;s the shock, of course. We wonder why this tragedy happened to us. Then sadness overwhelms us. Finally, we (bury) it. That&#8217;s when life resumes its course. In your case, you&#8217;re still experiencing that initial state of shock&#8230;<br \/><\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Belgacem Hssine<\/strong>: Exactly.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/DSC03070-copia.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bouteille \u00e0 la Mer<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> made with Leila Hssine. <br \/>On 13 October 2023, Leila&#8217;s hopes were crushed. Bader&#8217;s 4 friends returned to the small town. They had been imprisoned ever since and were unable to communicate. They told Leila that the two kayaks had capsized. The police had intercepted the 4 friends, leaving Bader lying in the water. In addition to the lack of rescue operations, there is also a lack of will. Rescue at sea is a moral duty as much as a legal, supervised, and organized obligation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/7.WPP_2024-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Youssef, a young man from Burkina Faso, steps out of his tent shaped like a boat hull. For six months, he has been living in the Km 25 camp in Ouled Msallem, surrounded by olive trees, where migrants from Guinea, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Mali endure harsh conditions while hoping to find a way to cross. It is difficult to estimate the number of migrants passing through these camps along the Sfax coast, as authorities block humanitarian aid from civil associations and even the IOM. This is done to avoid formalizing the camps with resources like tents, sleeping bags, toilets, or showers.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the year, I obtained authorization from the Tunisian government\u2019s Department of Information and Communication to create a few Bouteilles \u00e0 la Mer. Since then, shipwrecks have become increasingly frequent. The camp houses around 340 people, including 2 babies, 9 children, 45 women, and 2 pregnant women. For Youssef, the choice is agonizing: either attempt the crossing yet again or return to his country. To do so, he must try to reach the IOM office in Hzag or Sfax, all while fearing arrest, detention, or deportation to the Algerian border.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/8.WPP_2024-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"424\" class=\"\">Bottle made at Km25 camp with Sambe, in memory of his beloved brother Bambo from Gambia. In the harsh reality of migration, companions become like family\u2014often the first to hear of shipwrecks and to comfort grieving loved ones. Bambo\u2019s group left Km19 on December 8, 2024, at 9 p.m., facing stormy seas. Of the 55 onboard from Gambia, Guinea, and Senegal, only one survived: a young Guinean woman who drifted for three days.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"426\" data-end=\"607\" class=\"\">We found the bottle in a wreck on Amra Beach. \u201cIt was used as a flotation device,\u201d Sambe said. We chose it to honor Bambo\u2014an admired leader and skilled swimmer, captain of the boat.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"609\" data-end=\"860\" class=\"\">This is the first tribute to a missing Sub-Saharan person featured on the platform, made on-site in Ouled Msalem. The initiative unites Tunisian and Sub-Saharan families in shared mourning, breaking racial barriers and honoring all lost lives equally.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07847_1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A Sea Trip with Romdhane, Fisherman from Ataya Port. Romdhane, a fisherman from Ataya Port, currently the island&#8217;s main departure point, shares his struggles. The fishermen of the Gulf of Gabes, restricted to coastal waters due to the international division of the Mediterranean, face dwindling fish stocks caused by ecological disasters and overfishing. Additionally, their safety is at risk, their fishing zones are shrinking, and they are criminalized for rescuing migrants. Since international agreements like the 5+5 Dialogue in 2005, other countries have expanded their maritime territories, reducing the fishing area for Zarzis fishermen by 70%, threatening their future and survival.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/10.WPP_2024-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"313\" class=\"\">Bottle created with Romdhane, a fisherman from Attaya port on Kerkennah Island, during a sea outing in his traditional charfia fishing zone. After hours offshore, as we retrieved the week\u2019s catch, we found the drowned body of a young Sub-Saharan man caught in the nets\u2014his photo later discovered on his own phone.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"315\" data-end=\"520\" class=\"\">\u201cThis sea is sick, and so is the fishing,\u201d Romdhane said. \u201cThe ecosystem\u2014and humanity\u2014is in danger.\u201d Isolated by restrictive migration policies, Kerkennah\u2019s sea-dependent community lives in quiet struggle.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"522\" data-end=\"679\" class=\"\">We later found this bottle on a wreck at Mellita port. It stands as a final tribute to all unidentified souls lost at sea\u2014a face unknown, but deeply mourned.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/arab-type-invert.png\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>This participatory platform is designed to collect the stories that the Tunisian families of the missing have chosen to share without any obligation. It is not a database, but an area of action where you can commemorate, bring faces to light, and advocate freely. It is dedicated to all those who refuse to forget their departed loved ones and who resist the violence of European migration policies.<\/p>\n<p><strong>To the families of the missing, we insist: Take this space, it&#8217;s yours. It comes alive when you invest in it. Words can heal wounds.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bouteille-titre-invert-300x33.png\" alt=\"Bouteilles \u00e0 la mer\" width=\"173\" height=\"19\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-332\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bouteille-titre-invert-300x33.png 300w, https:\/\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bouteille-titre-invert-768x85.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bouteille-titre-invert.png 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 173px) 100vw, 173px\" \/> only comes alive through the interconnectedness of families, local associations committed to the dignity of individuals, and activists from everywhere.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\/en\/bottles\/\">Bottles<\/a>\n    <\/li>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\/en\/create-your-bottle\/\">Create your bottle<\/a>\n    <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--more--><br \/>\n<!-- {\"type\":\"layout\",\"children\":[{\"type\":\"section\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"padding\":\"none\",\"style\":\"default\",\"title_breakpoint\":\"xl\",\"title_position\":\"top-left\",\"title_rotation\":\"left\",\"vertical_align\":\"middle\",\"width\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"row\",\"children\":[{\"type\":\"column\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"position_sticky_breakpoint\":\"m\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"overlay-slider\",\"props\":{\"image_height\":\"600\",\"link_style\":\"default\",\"link_text\":\"Read more\",\"margin\":\"default\",\"meta_align\":\"below-title\",\"meta_element\":\"div\",\"meta_style\":\"text-meta\",\"nav\":\"dotnav\",\"nav_align\":\"center\",\"nav_breakpoint\":\"s\",\"overlay_hover\":true,\"overlay_mode\":\"cover\",\"overlay_padding\":\"large\",\"overlay_position\":\"center\",\"overlay_style\":\"overlay-default\",\"overlay_transition\":\"fade\",\"show_content\":true,\"show_hover_image\":true,\"show_link\":true,\"show_meta\":true,\"show_title\":true,\"slidenav\":\"default\",\"slidenav_breakpoint\":\"s\",\"slidenav_hover\":true,\"slidenav_large\":true,\"slidenav_margin\":\"medium\",\"slidenav_outside_breakpoint\":\"xl\",\"slider_autoplay_pause\":true,\"slider_gap\":\"\",\"slider_min_height\":\"600\",\"slider_width\":\"\",\"slider_width_default\":\"1-1\",\"slider_width_medium\":\"\",\"slider_width_small\":\"1-3\",\"text_align\":\"center\",\"title_element\":\"h3\",\"title_hover_style\":\"reset\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"overlay-slider_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">\\\"<\\\/span><i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">From the womb of suffering comes activism. Look at me, look at us. The silence of our children weighs us down, the silence of the state crushes us. Carry our voices across the sea<\\\/span><\\\/i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">\\u201d.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\"> <br \\\/>Portrait of Laila Akik, a Tunisian activist at a demonstration, holding a photo of her son Youssef, who disappeared at sea on 31-7-2020. He was last seen at sea in a difficult position by one of the two survivors of the shipwreck.\\u00a0<\\\/span><\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">In his last phone call, Youssef was 20 kilometers from Italy. <em>\\u201cI can see the island of Pantelliera, m\\u00fam.\\u201d<\\\/em><\\\/span><\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p><\\\/p>\",\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/layla_tunisie-1000.jpg\",\"meta\":\"\",\"title\":\"\"}},{\"type\":\"overlay-slider_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p><i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Bouteilles \\u00e0 la Mer<\\\/span><\\\/i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\"> made with Laila Akik for her son Youssef. Leila wrote this letter as if it had been written by her son Youssef Saidana. <em>\\u00a0<br \\\/><\\\/em><\\\/span><i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Letter: \\u201cOur country despised us and forced us to emigrate, and to die we were sent alive. Forgive me, m\\u00fam, forgive me the pain of separation and the pain of longing. You did not see me getting married, and I wasn\\u2019t buried like everyone else. About your troubles and misery, you know well, m\\u00fam, in our country we are not allowed to realize our dreams. But death came and took me, in the form of a sea wave that entombed me \\u2014My dear m\\u00fam, only one last wish: do not forget me and see me in every Tunisian young man and girl, and be a fighter, so we have justice, equality and freedom for our future generations. Dad, take care of my loving mother and brothers. Protect them. Finally, greet Tunisia and tell her I love her, no matter how much she suffers and how many times I die.\\u201d\\u00a0<br \\\/><\\\/span><\\\/i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">In June 2023, Youssef's body was found in Zarzis buried at the Jardin d'Afrique de Zarzis Memorial cemetery after the exhumation of multiple graves linked to the contentious and widely media-covered shipwreck of September 18, 2022. The bottle Layla used is thought to come from a shipwreck and is now housed within the Zarzis Sea Memory Museum. <\\\/span><\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p><span>\\u00a0<\\\/span><\\\/p>\\n\n\n<div class=\\\"page\\\" title=\\\"Page 6\\\">\\n\n\n<div class=\\\"layoutArea\\\">\\n\n\n<div class=\\\"column\\\"><\\\/div>\\n<\\\/div>\\n<\\\/div>\",\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/DSC00954-copia.jpg\"}},{\"type\":\"overlay-slider_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Tunisia (Sfax - Ouled Msallem), 30-08-2022. <br \\\/>Souad Ben Sassi wrote the letter for her bottle at her home in Oulad Msallem, the main place for the sea crossings. On 11 March 2011, Bader, aged 30, set sail for Italy in a fisherman\\u2019s boat with other Tunisians. He left his mother and 5 brothers and sisters behind. In her heart, Bader is still alive, but 12 years later, after a relentless struggle to find her son, doubts arise.\\u00a0<\\\/span><\\\/p>\",\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/5.jpg\"}},{\"type\":\"overlay-slider_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p>\\u0628\\u062f\\u0631 \\u064a\\u0627 \\u063a\\u0627\\u0644\\u064a \\u0645\\u0646 \\u064a\\u0648\\u0645 \\u0631\\u062d\\u0644\\u062a . \\u0648 \\u0627\\u0646\\u0627 \\u0641\\u064a \\u0627\\u0646\\u062a\\u0636\\u0627\\u0631\\u0643 \\u0645\\u0646\\u0633\\u064a\\u062a\\u0643\\u0634 \\u0648 \\u0645\\u0634 \\u0628\\u0634 \\u0646\\u0646\\u0633\\u0627\\u0643. \\u0645\\u0646 \\u0628\\u0639\\u062f \\u0645\\u0627 \\u0627\\u0644\\u0628\\u062d\\u0631 \\u0645\\u0646\\u064a \\u062e\\u0630\\u0627\\u0643 \\u062e\\u0644\\u0627\\u0646\\u064a \\u062d\\u0627\\u064a\\u0631\\u0647 . \\u062d\\u0632\\u064a\\u0646\\u0647 . \\u0643\\u0628\\u062f\\u064a \\u0645\\u0634\\u0648\\u064a\\u0647 . \\u0628\\u062f\\u0631 \\u064a\\u0627 \\u063a\\u0627\\u0644\\u064a \\u0639\\u0644\\u064a\\u0627 \\u0631\\u0648\\u062d\\u064a \\u0628\\u0639\\u062f\\u0643 \\u0647\\u0627\\u0646\\u062a \\u0639\\u0644\\u064a\\u0627 . \\u0648 \\u0645\\u0627\\u0632\\u0644\\u062a \\u0645\\u0633\\u062a\\u0646\\u064a\\u0647 \\u0628\\u062f\\u0631 . \\u0643\\u064a\\u0641\\u0627\\u0634 \\u0646\\u0633\\u0627\\u0646\\u064a \\u0645\\u0634\\u0627 \\u0648 \\u062e\\u0644\\u0627\\u0646\\u064a <br \\\/>\\u062e\\u0644\\u0627\\u0646\\u064a \\u0641\\u064a \\u062d\\u0632\\u0646 \\u0648 \\u0645\\u0631\\u0627\\u0631\\u0647 \\u0645\\u0631\\u0627\\u0631\\u0647 \\u0627\\u0644\\u0628\\u0639\\u062f \\u0646\\u0639\\u0627\\u0646\\u064a \\u0644\\u0644\\u0623\\u0633\\u0641 \\u0627\\u0643\\u062a\\u0628 \\u0647\\u0630\\u0647 \\u0627\\u0644\\u0631\\u0633\\u0627\\u0644\\u0629 \\u0648 \\u0627\\u0642\\u0648\\u0644 \\u0627\\u0645\\u0643 \\u062a\\u062d\\u0628\\u0643 \\u0628\\u0631\\u0634\\u0627<\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p>\\u0631\\u0633\\u0627\\u0644\\u0629 \\u0627\\u0644\\u0649 \\u0627\\u0628\\u0646\\u064a \\u0639\\u0628\\u0631 \\u0627\\u0644\\u0628\\u062d\\u0631<\\\/p>\\n\n\n<div class=\\\"page\\\" title=\\\"Page 9\\\">\\n\n\n<div class=\\\"layoutArea\\\">\\n\n\n<div class=\\\"column\\\">\\n\n\n<p><i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Bouteille \\u00e0 la Mer<\\\/span><\\\/i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\"> made with Souad Ben Sassi for his son Bader. <br \\\/><\\\/span><i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">\\u201cMy dear Bader, since you left, I have been waiting for you, I didn\\u2019t forget you and I won\\u2019t forget you. After the sea caught you, I remain sorrowful. My liver and my faith are burning too*. My dear Bader, my soul is worthless. I ask myself: Where is Bader? Why did you leave? How could you let me go through this suffering? It\\u2019s Valentine\\u2019s Day, I am writing this letter to tell you Bader, that your mother loves you. (Letter to my son that pierces the sea<\\\/span><\\\/i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">.)\\u201d.\\u00a0<br \\\/><\\\/span><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">*Popular Tunisian saying to express pain.\\u00a0<\\\/span><\\\/p>\\n<\\\/div>\\n<\\\/div>\\n<\\\/div>\",\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/DSC00868-copia.jpg\",\"title\":\"\"}},{\"type\":\"overlay-slider_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Tunisia (Tunis), 12-6-2023.\\u00a0 <br \\\/>Dalila, the wife of Basset Hamdi, who vanished on September 6, 2012. Dalila is a key figure in La Terre Pour Tous Association and a tireless activist. For more than a decade now, she has been caring for three kids while her husband's been missing. As a single mother with a non-deceased husband, she's legally unable to access aid, rebuild, or make decisions. <br \\\/>Her plea: <strong>a certificate recognizing the reality of sea disappearances. She is seen here participating in the <\\\/strong><\\\/span><strong>demonstration in front of the National Theater of Tunisia.<\\\/strong><\\\/p>\",\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/DSC04279-scaled.jpg\"}},{\"type\":\"overlay-slider_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p><i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Bouteille \\u00e0 la Mer<\\\/span><\\\/i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\"> made with Dalila Basset for her husband. <br \\\/>\\\"<\\\/span><i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">I'm scared because Yassin, your son, wants to make the crossing like you did. But I'm not going to let him. I pray that God will give me strength<\\\/span><\\\/i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">\\\". <br \\\/><\\\/span><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Basset Hamdi was her true love, a husband she took of her own volition. They were married against the will of her parents. Dalila supports herself by working occasionally (cleaning houses and doing henna body decorations for weddings). <br \\\/>She is alone, and afraid that one of her three sons might also take the dangerous journey. Dalila lives in a perpetual limbo, in a sort of fictional marriage.\\u00a0<\\\/span><\\\/p>\",\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/DSC02885-copia.jpg\",\"title\":\"\"}},{\"type\":\"overlay-slider_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Tunisia (Mourouj -Tunis), 23-10-2023. <br \\\/>Skander Othmani\\u2019s family portrait at home. Skander vanished with friends secretly. His mother, Mongia, looks for him tirelessly. <br \\\/>\\\"<\\\/span><i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">We've done everything \\u2014complaints, lawyers, searches, reaching out to authorities. It's like Skander never existed. Sometimes I doubt it myself \\u2014if I hadn't seen photos of him on that boat, I'd think he never left.<\\\/span><\\\/i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">\\\" Since Skander's departure, Mongia wears black, mourning without closure. Younger siblings hope to reunite with their big brother and the mother they know.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\",\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/DSC01015.jpg\"}},{\"type\":\"overlay-slider_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p><i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Bouteille \\u00e0 la Mer<\\\/span><\\\/i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\"> made with Mongia Othmani. Monjia has given me a USB that contains all the research carried out to find Skander. There are videos at sea of Skander in no difficulty, photos in a detention center in Italy, selfies of Skander with his friends, and the Facebook profile of the boat's captain. All these efforts to find him have come to nothing because there is no one willing to listen and understand. Metaphorically, Monjia pulls in water from this research. <br \\\/>Faced with this void, she conjures up the worst imaginable scenarios: <br \\\/>\\\"<\\\/span><i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">I imagine him alive, I imagine him dead, I imagine him eaten by fish, I imagine him in a mountain, I imagine him dead, I imagine him dead. I imagine him in a mountain, I imagine him in prison, I imagine him being tortured, I imagine him in people's homes...<\\\/span><\\\/i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">\\\".<\\\/span><\\\/p>\",\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/DSC03005-copia.jpg\"}},{\"type\":\"overlay-slider_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Tunisia (Enfidha), 4-4-2023. Portrait of Bader Eddine Hssine's family in their living room. I visited them accompanied by Wael Garnaouia, a psychoanalyst and a specialist in the irregular migrations of Tunisians. On 27 July 2022, Bader, their son, and 4 friends went to Europe in kayaks. Since then, there has been no news. The conversation was filmed:<\\\/span><\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p><i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\"><strong>Leila Salah<\\\/strong>: \\\"Do you want to know the day I'll remember for the rest of my life? It's the day when my son called me to say, 'Hello, Mom!', as he used to when he worked at the factory, calling before arriving home. He repeated 'Badr! Badr!' twice. Always. I want to hear his voice even through a phone! I just want to know if my son is alive. I don't need anything else. Not money, nothing. I swear... Tell me lies. I need to be lied to, even though deep down, I know it's not true... I need to believe in this lie. It's my refuge, my remedy.<br \\\/><\\\/span><\\\/i><i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\"><strong>Wael Garnaoui<\\\/strong>: I empathize. There's nothing harder than what you're going through. It's because you haven't experienced things as they're supposed to be. When a person loses a loved one - and I sincerely hope Badr is not dead -:::<br \\\/><\\\/span><\\\/i><i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\"><strong>Belgacem Hssine<\\\/strong>: INSHALLAH<br \\\/><\\\/span><\\\/i><i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\"><strong>Wael Garnaoui<\\\/strong>: ... They go through different stages. At first, it's the shock, of course. We wonder why this tragedy happened to us. Then sadness overwhelms us. Finally, we (bury) it. That's when life resumes its course. In your case, you're still experiencing that initial state of shock...<br \\\/><\\\/span><\\\/i><i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\"><strong>Belgacem Hssine<\\\/strong>: Exactly.<\\\/span><\\\/i><\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p><\\\/p>\",\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/BADER-scaled.jpg\",\"title\":\"\"}},{\"type\":\"overlay-slider_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p><i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Bouteille \\u00e0 la Mer<\\\/span><\\\/i><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\"> made with Leila Hssine. <br \\\/>On 13 October 2023, Leila's hopes were crushed. Bader's 4 friends returned to the small town. They had been imprisoned ever since and were unable to communicate. They told Leila that the two kayaks had capsized. The police had intercepted the 4 friends, leaving Bader lying in the water. In addition to the lack of rescue operations, there is also a lack of will. Rescue at sea is a moral duty as much as a legal, supervised, and organized obligation.\\u00a0<\\\/span><\\\/p>\",\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/DSC03070-copia.jpg\"}},{\"type\":\"overlay-slider_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p>Youssef, a young man from Burkina Faso, steps out of his tent shaped like a boat hull. For six months, he has been living in the Km 25 camp in Ouled Msallem, surrounded by olive trees, where migrants from Guinea, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Mali endure harsh conditions while hoping to find a way to cross. It is difficult to estimate the number of migrants passing through these camps along the Sfax coast, as authorities block humanitarian aid from civil associations and even the IOM. This is done to avoid formalizing the camps with resources like tents, sleeping bags, toilets, or showers.<\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p>At the end of the year, I obtained authorization from the Tunisian government\\u2019s Department of Information and Communication to create a few Bouteilles \\u00e0 la Mer. Since then, shipwrecks have become increasingly frequent. The camp houses around 340 people, including 2 babies, 9 children, 45 women, and 2 pregnant women. For Youssef, the choice is agonizing: either attempt the crossing yet again or return to his country. To do so, he must try to reach the IOM office in Hzag or Sfax, all while fearing arrest, detention, or deportation to the Algerian border.<\\\/p>\",\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/7.WPP_2024-scaled.jpg\"}},{\"type\":\"overlay-slider_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p data-start=\\\"0\\\" data-end=\\\"424\\\" class=\\\"\\\">Bottle made at Km25 camp with Sambe, in memory of his beloved brother Bambo from Gambia. In the harsh reality of migration, companions become like family\\u2014often the first to hear of shipwrecks and to comfort grieving loved ones. Bambo\\u2019s group left Km19 on December 8, 2024, at 9 p.m., facing stormy seas. Of the 55 onboard from Gambia, Guinea, and Senegal, only one survived: a young Guinean woman who drifted for three days.<\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p data-start=\\\"426\\\" data-end=\\\"607\\\" class=\\\"\\\">We found the bottle in a wreck on Amra Beach. \\u201cIt was used as a flotation device,\\u201d Sambe said. We chose it to honor Bambo\\u2014an admired leader and skilled swimmer, captain of the boat.<\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p data-start=\\\"609\\\" data-end=\\\"860\\\" class=\\\"\\\">This is the first tribute to a missing Sub-Saharan person featured on the platform, made on-site in Ouled Msalem. The initiative unites Tunisian and Sub-Saharan families in shared mourning, breaking racial barriers and honoring all lost lives equally.<\\\/p>\",\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/8.WPP_2024-scaled.jpg\"}},{\"type\":\"overlay-slider_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p>A Sea Trip with Romdhane, Fisherman from Ataya Port. Romdhane, a fisherman from Ataya Port, currently the island's main departure point, shares his struggles. The fishermen of the Gulf of Gabes, restricted to coastal waters due to the international division of the Mediterranean, face dwindling fish stocks caused by ecological disasters and overfishing. Additionally, their safety is at risk, their fishing zones are shrinking, and they are criminalized for rescuing migrants. Since international agreements like the 5+5 Dialogue in 2005, other countries have expanded their maritime territories, reducing the fishing area for Zarzis fishermen by 70%, threatening their future and survival.<\\\/p>\",\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/DSC07847_1-scaled.jpg\"}},{\"type\":\"overlay-slider_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p data-start=\\\"0\\\" data-end=\\\"313\\\" class=\\\"\\\">Bottle created with Romdhane, a fisherman from Attaya port on Kerkennah Island, during a sea outing in his traditional charfia fishing zone. After hours offshore, as we retrieved the week\\u2019s catch, we found the drowned body of a young Sub-Saharan man caught in the nets\\u2014his photo later discovered on his own phone.<\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p data-start=\\\"315\\\" data-end=\\\"520\\\" class=\\\"\\\">\\u201cThis sea is sick, and so is the fishing,\\u201d Romdhane said. \\u201cThe ecosystem\\u2014and humanity\\u2014is in danger.\\u201d Isolated by restrictive migration policies, Kerkennah\\u2019s sea-dependent community lives in quiet struggle.<\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p data-start=\\\"522\\\" data-end=\\\"679\\\" class=\\\"\\\">We later found this bottle on a wreck at Mellita port. It stands as a final tribute to all unidentified souls lost at sea\\u2014a face unknown, but deeply mourned.<\\\/p>\",\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/10.WPP_2024-scaled.jpg\"}}]}]}]}]},{\"type\":\"section\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"padding_remove_top\":true,\"style\":\"default\",\"title_breakpoint\":\"xl\",\"title_position\":\"top-left\",\"title_rotation\":\"left\",\"vertical_align\":\"middle\",\"width\":\"default\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"row\",\"children\":[{\"type\":\"column\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"position_sticky_breakpoint\":\"m\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"image\",\"props\":{\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/arab-type-invert.png\",\"image_height\":\"100\",\"image_svg_color\":\"emphasis\",\"margin\":\"default\",\"text_align\":\"right\"}},{\"type\":\"text\",\"props\":{\"column\":\"1-2\",\"column_breakpoint\":\"m\",\"content\":\"\n\n<p>This participatory platform is designed to collect the stories that the Tunisian families of the missing have chosen to share without any obligation. It is not a database, but an area of action where you can commemorate, bring faces to light, and advocate freely. It is dedicated to all those who refuse to forget their departed loved ones and who resist the violence of European migration policies.<\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p><strong>To the families of the missing, we insist: Take this space, it's yours. It comes alive when you invest in it. Words can heal wounds.<\\\/strong><\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p><\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p><img src=\\\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/bouteille-titre-invert-300x33.png\\\" alt=\\\"Bouteilles \\u00e0 la mer\\\" width=\\\"173\\\" height=\\\"19\\\" class=\\\"alignnone  wp-image-332\\\" \\\/> only comes alive through the interconnectedness of families, local associations committed to the dignity of individuals, and activists from everywhere.<\\\/p>\",\"dropcap\":true,\"margin\":\"default\"}},{\"type\":\"button\",\"props\":{\"grid_column_gap\":\"small\",\"grid_row_gap\":\"small\",\"margin\":\"medium\",\"text_align\":\"center\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"button_item\",\"props\":{\"button_style\":\"primary\",\"content\":\"Bottles\",\"icon_align\":\"left\",\"link\":\"en\\\/bottles\\\/\"}},{\"type\":\"button_item\",\"props\":{\"button_style\":\"secondary\",\"content\":\"Create your bottle\",\"icon_align\":\"left\",\"link\":\"en\\\/create-your-bottle\\\/\"}}]}]}]}]}],\"version\":\"4.2.10\"} --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;From the womb of suffering comes activism. Look at me, look at us. The silence of our children weighs us down, the silence of the state crushes us. Carry our voices across the sea\u201d. Portrait of Laila Akik, a Tunisian activist at a demonstration, holding a photo of her son Youssef, who disappeared at sea [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1069","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1069"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2125,"href":"https:\/\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1069\/revisions\/2125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bouteillesalamer.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}