Dutch contribution: Deployment of the ‘Tunisia Company’
On 6 November 1969, the Dutch government gave the go-ahead for the military relief operation in Tunisia. A special engineering and construction company was formed from the Disaster Relief Brigade (Rampenbrigade).
Composition of the Tunisia Company
Most of the 230 volunteers of this ‘Tunisia Company’ (Tuncie) were from 11 Engineer Battalion based in Wezep and commanded by Major J. Schokker. The unit was augmented with a liaison group, a repair platoon, a dump truck platoon, a signal group, a medical group, an army service corps group and a few military police.
Wells free of sand
The Tunisia Company left the Netherlands in the early morning of 4 December 1969. The unit operated from a base camp in Raccada. The engineers removed sand from a total of 33 wells and repaired the wells’ pumps. In addition, they performed numerous jobs for the local population, such as removing sand from the villages of Beni-Temin and Saaffrana and the agricultural school in Barouta.
Repairing the water mains
Because of delays in the delivery of materials, the Tunisia Company started performing its main task, repairing the water mains in the cities of Sidi Bou Ali and Kairouan, later than originally planned. A new route under the Zeroud River was laid for the Sidi Bou Ali main. This project was completed at the end of February 1970. Repair work on the Sidi Bou Ali main was only completed on the last day (3 March 1970).
Deadline met
This deadline was met with the help of 10 members of the Royal Netherlands Air Force’s 298 Squadron who had been flown in. The Ministry of Defence decided to deploy this air force detachment with 2 Alouette III helicopters between 22 January and 19 March 1970. Acting in a support role, the air force detachment reduced the workload of the engineers by transporting materiel between both camps by air. The Tunisia Company and the air force detachment returned to the Netherlands on 5 March 1970.