From smugglers to supermarkets: the 'informal economy' touches us all

You may think that a smuggler in the Tunisian desert has nothing to do with your trip to the supermarket. You're wrong

As I talk to him, Ahmed pulls his chair into his store to escape the hot Tunisian sun. He is a retired teacher - the years of screaming children can be counted in the rings framing his eyes. Behind him is his merchandise. To make up for a small pension, Ahmed is selling kitchenware in a market near the Libyan border, over four hundred tiny concrete garages surround him, goods piled high: clothes, bags, microwaves. It looks like any other market, but note an invisible detail: everything sold here is illegal. Every good in this market has been smuggled into Tunisia. Ahmed, though he may not look the part, is a smuggler.

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