As part of the Sfaxforward project, we focused on the mining heritage of the Gafsa region, primarily the four towns that emerged from the phosphate exploitation discovered by French military veterinarian Philippe Thomas and put into operation by the Sfax Gafsa Railway Company in 1895.
After conducting a survey of sites and monuments dating back to the colonial era, we became interested in the architectural style of the time (19th-20th century), namely Art Deco and Arabo-Moorish styles for official buildings, which remained unchanged despite the emergence of international style in the 1930s and the colonial style found in other colonies, similar to that of the Metropolis: cut stones with pyramid-shaped roofs, wood and subtly shaded red tiles, the classic French garden with latticed fencing, etc.
Regarding the mining sites and their derivatives, only the freight railways, factories, washeries, power plants, stations, and phosphate storage facilities managed by the CPG (Phosphate Company of Gafsa) are still operational. The passenger railway line No. 15, connecting Redeyef to Tunis via Sfax and Sousse, has been discontinued since 2011, and the stations are now partially or completely closed, although there has been recent discussion about the start of redevelopment work on this line.
Faced with this deplorable, if not catastrophic, situation, and through our Scientific Caravan that visited the towns in the mining basin on September 10th, 11th, and 12th, 2022, as well as the meetings and debates held with civil society in the region, we were able to assess the current state of this persisting European material heritage.
Our primary goal is to first promote the other aspects of the region, leveraging the cultural potential contained in sites from the colonial era as an alternative to local cultural tourism, which is absent throughout the Gafsa region.
Next, we aim to raise awareness among local populations about the importance of preserving this heritage and involve civil society, especially the youth in the region, in the valorization of this European local heritage through agreements with local associations active in the region and foreign associations from mining regions in European countries, particularly France and Belgium.
Finally, we aim to compile a comprehensive dossier to classify the Gafsa mining basin on the UNESCO World Heritage List and transform this heritage into a factor for the sustainable development of the region, which has so far suffered from marginalization, poverty, unemployment among educated youth, pollution, and other challenges
Adel BEN YOUSSEF
LERIC Laboratory, University of Sfax, Tunisia