Sabee al Saidi: Tunisia woman, 18, slammed after video shows illegal immigrants on boat
An Instagram influencer, hailing from Tunisia, was slammed on the Internet after she shared pictures of her pouting and posing aboard a boat -- bound for Italy -- with many other young illegal immigrants.
On November 14, Sabee al Saidi, who has hundreds of thousands of followers, arrived on the island of Lampedusa in the boat of illegal immigrants. Explaining her reason to enter Italy illegally, the 18-year-old told French channel RFI, that she was "forced" to leave her country due to the poor social conditions.
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In addition to these gorgeous photos, the young woman also posted a video on which she can be seen waddling her head to the music of a popular Tunisian song about the "harqa," or illegal passage to Europe, while still in the open sea. The presence of a dozen warmly dressed young guys around her appears to back up the story of the young girl. The video has caught the attention of a lot of people and it has been criticized for glamorizing illegal migration. The act is considered"silly" and "stupid" by most of the viewers of the video.
Several took to Instagram to slam her act. One user said "this is foolishness", while another user commented, " I'm speechless ". "We are well placed in Italy. The clowns of Europe," said another.
Matteo Salvini, the head of the populist League, compared the video to a popular hidden camera practical joke television show. He commented, "During the clandestine crossing, on an irregular boat, the Tunisian influencer publishes Instagram stories and photos — joyful and smiling. I’ll leave the comments to you."
This isn't the first time that young people have been accused of such acts during the European border crossing. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) made an endeavor to raise awareness about the hazards of illegal immigration. Tunisia has recently incurred the fury of Paris after failing to accept its illegal immigrants. France has announced that until a solution is found, it will cut the number of visas issued to its citizens by 30%.