As we have done every year for the past seventeen years, we gathered in front of Square Saïd Bouziri, across from Saint-Bernard Church, in Paris’s 18th arrondissement, to pay tribute to two key figures in our struggles: Saïd Bouziri, who passed away on June 23, 2009, and Tarek Ben Hiba, who passed away on June 26, 2022.
This gathering is taking place at a highly symbolic location. It recalls the major protests in support of immigrant workers and undocumented migrants, notably the evacuation of Saint-Bernard Church in August 1996, when police put an end to the occupation led by undocumented hunger strikers, supported by numerous public figures, including Professor Laurent Schwartz, Bishop Jacques Gaillot, actress Emmanuelle Béart, and Professor Albert Jacquard. On that day, the first person to be removed by the police was Saïd Bouziri, who was present at the scene as a representative of the League for Human Rights.
Despite the heat wave, many friends, fellow activists, and advocates were in attendance, as they are every year. Representatives from the Human Rights League—of which Saïd was a member of the national leadership—Cedetim, the Federation of Tunisians for Citizenship on Both Shores (FTCR), the Association of Maghrebians in France (ATMF), the Democratic Association of Tunisians in France (ADTF), former activists from the ATF, the Committee for the Respect of Freedoms and Human Rights in Tunisia (CRLDHT), residents of the 18th arrondissement where Saïd lived, as well as members of his family, took part in this moment of remembrance and solidarity.
As usual, our friends from the Association of Maghreb Workers in France (ATMF) warmly welcomed us to their offices to continue this gathering, sharing memories, anecdotes, and reflections on the struggles we have shared with Saïd Bouziri and, for the past four years, with Tarek Ben Hiba.
Through this commemoration of our two friends, we also wanted to pay tribute to all those who shared their commitment and who have passed away in recent years: Abdelmajid Dabboussi, of Radio Soleil and the newspaper *Sans Frontière*; Jelloul Ben Hamida, a former activist with the FTCR; Hamadi Troudi, of the ADTF; Farid Aïchoun, a journalist at *Le Nouvel Observateur* and co-founder, along with Saïd, of the newspaper *Sans Frontière*; Adel Afaoui, of the ATF; Jean-Jacques Miloudi; Mohamed Bachari, known as Mokhtar, of Radio Soleil; the anthropologist Emmanuel Terray and Elisabet Ales of Cédétim; Michel Tubiana, former president of the LDH; as well as many other fellow activists whose memory lives on in our struggles.
But this commemoration takes on special significance today. It is an act of loyalty to the struggles that Saïd Bouziri and Tarek Ben Hiba waged throughout their lives against racism, discrimination, and all forms of injustice, and in support of human rights, equality, democracy, social justice, and solidarity among peoples.
As the far right gains ground in France, Europe, and many parts of the world; as hate speech and anti-immigrant policies become increasingly commonplace; as fundamental freedoms are eroded; and as the values of equality and fraternity are increasingly challenged, their legacy seems more relevant and essential than ever.
This tribute also comes at a particularly dire time on the international stage. The Palestinian people continue to endure war, massive destruction, and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. In several Maghreb countries, civil liberties are being eroded amid the rise of authoritarianism. In Tunisia in particular, the repression of opponents, the imprisonment of political leaders, union activists, journalists, lawyers, and human rights defenders, and the rise of racism against sub-Saharan migrants serve as a stark reminder of the ongoing struggles that Said Bouziri and Tarek Ben Hiba have always waged for democracy, the rule of law, and civil liberties.
Both Saïd Bouziri and Tarek Ben Hiba have consistently drawn a connection between defending the rights of immigrants, fighting racism, supporting the Palestinian people, and the struggle for democratic freedoms. Their journeys remind us that these causes are deeply intertwined and that, even today, they require vigilance, mobilization, and solidarity.
To remember Saïd and Tarek is to keep alive the values they embodied with courage, generosity, and steadfastness. It is to continue the struggles to which they dedicated their lives and to reaffirm our commitment to justice, human dignity, equal rights, and the freedom of peoples.
Saïd Bouziri
A founding member of the Arab Workers’ Movement (MTA) in 1972, Saïd Bouziri became involved in the Palestine Committees as early as 1969–1970 and never ceased to defend the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. A co-founder of the magazines *Sans Frontière* and *Baraka*, president of the association *Génériques*, leader of the Third Collective of Undocumented Migrants, and a member of the national leadership of the League for Human Rights, he was one of the leading figures in the struggles for equal rights and a loyal friend of the FTCR, whose causes he supported for several decades.
Tarek Ben Hiba
A political and labor activist and tireless defender of human rights, Tarek Ben Hiba—after a stint with the ATF—was one of the pillars of the FTCR, which he chaired for many years, as well as a founding member of the Committee for the Respect of Freedoms and Human Rights in Tunisia (CRLDHT). His internationalist commitment was also evident from an early stage through his support for the Palestinian people: as early as 1975, he participated, alongside other Tunisian activists, in solidarity actions in the Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut. Tarek served as a Regional Councilor for the Île-de-France region from 2004 to 2013.
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Their memory remains a source of inspiration for all those who today continue the struggle for human rights, democracy, social justice, international solidarity, and equal rights. Their legacy compels and commits us.
