Some might view Tunisia as full of trash, a lost cause, or some place they would not like to be. This week I had the chance to catch up with Camy Mathlouthi who is the founder of pour une tunisie propre et verte to talk about how we couldn’t disagree more
Most people don’t exactly consider Tunisia as “the place” to be these days. A decade of political struggle
has cracked the bright and sunny Mediterranean beach facade, which once served as Tunisia’s profile picture.
Now the image of a messy house comes to mind, leaving a bulk of its inhabitants with a strong desire to leave and deterring many of its visitors from knocking on the door as tourism, a major source of income for the country, .
However, not all Tunisians choose to view their country as a lost cause. Recently I’ve had the chance to catch up with environmentalist, painter, and my friend Camy Mathlouthi. Camy is the Founder of pour une tunisie propre et verte (For a Clean and Green Tunisia–PTPV), a Tunisian movement (previously an association) that strives to empower youth to protect oceans and seas by addressing plastic pollution through an artistic lens.
Seeing Beauty within the “Bad”
If you visit PTPV’s Facebook page, you’ll notice a sharp contrast between the photos of documented plastic pollution and the pictures celebrating a clean beach, spring flowers, or trashart. This excellently demonstrates Camy’s wise approach to not only plastic pollution–but life–in Tunisia
Camy refuses to ignore environmental issues faced by Tunisia. But rather than solely focusing on the problem of trash that can seem like never ending piles in our streets and on our beaches, she redirects the attention to possibilities through trash-to-art workshops, beach cleanups, and poetic performances carried out through PTPV.
In sum, when it comes to the trash problem and the more or less corrupted state of politics, Camy won’t sugar coat the problem, but she won’t spend too much time complaining either because she is committed to finding the beauty within the “bad”.
Adapting to Make the Difference
At the start, PTPV’s activities included more work at the political level hoping to influence local authorities. However, Camy realized early on, “After many experiences, I understood that they will never enforce the law to end trash in the public spaces.”
Instead she noted, “I am dwelling on my commitment because I am convinced that I can convince young people around me. And that’s enough for now.” In many ways, this signaled a return to the organization’s roots, as PTPV grew out of Camy’s work with her German students, which began in 2008 with an Environmental Awareness Week.
