The Forgotten People of the Western Sahara
200,000 Sahrawi Refugees Abandoned in the Sahara
This was my first job out of college working for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. That was 1986-1987. At that time they had been there, which is in the middle of the Sahara, for 12 years. They are still there.
The Camp in Tindouf
The camps in Tindouf, comprised of between 160,000 and 200,000 Sahrawis, are home to those who fled the Western Sahara when Spain withdrew in 1975. Morocco occupied the northern two-thirds and Mauritania the bottom third. After a few years of Polsario attacks, Mauritania withdrew and Morocco occupied the whole of the sparsely populated but mineral rich area. The Tindouf camps are among those with the longest duration in the world, not a very prestigious title. Some live in tents, others in abode buildings and parts now resemble a city. Perhaps as many as a third of Sahrawis call Tindouf home.
The Saharawis have their own democratically elected government, the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), with men and women ministers and parliamentarians. Its officials run the camps. The government looks after its people and seeks the support of other nations for the proposed referendum so that the Saharawi people can return to their own country. The SADR is recognised as the legitimate government of Western Sahara by at least 80 countries, most recently by the Republic of South Africa and Kenya. It is a member of the African Union. The United States does not recognized the SADR but has called for a plebiscite for the region.
The temperature reaches 135 F in summer and drops below freezing in winter. The area is often affected by sandstorms, called siroccos, which sweep through the refugee camps without warning. They can remake the landscape in minutes. In the Spring, flash floods wipe out entire stretches of tents and homes destroying everything in their path.
The Aftermath of a Flood
A Video By A Sahrawi Refugee Living in Norway
Morocco’s Wall of Shame
To prevent the Sahrawis, many of whom are nomadic, from entering and leaving, Morocco has built a wall across the length of the Western Sahara. Forts are built into the ramparts.
A website in Spanish: Sahrawi Independiente
I have not forgotten my time amongst you and there is not a day that goes by that I don’t remember the kindness I received from a people who had lost it all. The lessons you taught me I remember to this day and I carry them with me wherever I go ever mindful that so much more needs to be done on your behalf.
A Sahrawi Music Video Made in Spain
Spain needs to undo the mistake made in 1975.
International Refugee Organization
The World Refugee Survey 2008 was released on 19 June 2008. This year’s Survey offers 60 country updates and also highlights ten of the worst violators of refugees’ rights. Also in this year’s Survey are examples of people speaking out on behalf of refugees in countries from Thailand to Turkey, and detailed statistics on refugees around the world. Read it online at International Refugee Organization