Sfax Medina: How Long Will Silence Continue Amidst Incessant Collapse?

Another wall has crumbled in the heart of Sfax's Medina, this time on Sidi Ali Nouri street. By sheer luck, no one was present when the structure gave way. This latest incident, like those before it, is met with a sigh, a sweep of dust, and life resuming its course, until the next close call. The question lingers: can lives continue to be entrusted to chance?

This collapse is not an isolated event but a stark warning sign for a historic center on the brink. It is estimated that nearly 900 buildings within the Medina are threatened with collapse. Despite persistent alarms raised by residents and numerous reports filed, a deafening silence from authorities has met these pleas for intervention to save what remains.

The article decries the "almost routine indifference" and bureaucratic inertia, questioning why expert assessments, meetings, and approvals take months when rain and time are relentless. It poses a critical question: must a human tragedy occur, a family devastated, before the urgency of the situation is recognized and action is taken?

Solutions such as launching emergency consolidation projects and simplifying immediate safety procedures are available. The author argues that the issue is not feasibility but a lack of political will. The Medina, far from being a forgotten museum, is a living neighborhood with residents, merchants, and children. The piece concludes by stating that allowing this vital part of collective memory to disintegrate through negligence is a grave fault with tragic consequences.