Unfortunately with my illness persisting, I have had to cut my trip short, and last night I flew out of Tindouf, arriving in Madrid early this morning. My flight to London was cancelled, so I am spending the evening with a Saharawi friend, Mohamed, who is staying at a flat in the outskirts of the city.
He is here for a month's holidays, to be spent with his brother and wife, Salem and Laila, who have travelled from the Occupied Territories. This is a rare chance for them to spend time together. Before this, my friend hadn't seen his wife for a year, or his brother in nearly 8 years, since he crossed the wall to get to the camps. He made the decision to do this after being forced to spend 11 months undercover hiding from Moroccan police and enduring many periods of imprisonment and torture due to his involvement in human rights activism leading up to the first Saharawi intifada in 1999.
My friend's younger brother is part of the generation of the second intifada, which broke out in 2005. He is interested in cultural activism. He believes that he and other intellectuals can help keep a positive spirit among the Saharawi resistance, through poetry and other cultural activities. He explains, "we must paint a smile on our faces for the Moroccans. If they beat us and we smile they don't understand, and that scares them. The pen is more dangerous than the gun." Indeed, my friend's wife emphasizes the importance of focusing on their dreams and goals, which gives them strength in their resistance; "the Moroccans are playing with time so that we'll get tired, but we will never lose our hope."
Some friends of the family are also over for dinner, including Fatimetu Zrug Yomani, the Saharawi Parliament's Youth Representative. She tells me a bit about her work, which involves finding funds to open training centres for young people in the camps, where those who haven't had the chance to study abroad can develop their personal skills and learn a trade. Yet she is also keen to tell me about the hardships suffered by young people in the Occupied Territories. They are discriminated against in school, at university and with regards to grant and work opportunities. My friend is an example, his degree taking 8 years to complete instead of the usual 4 due to police harassment.
On the way to the airport, I feel sad to be leaving so soon, and I look forward to returning one day, hopefully with a stronger stomach! In general terms, I have been particularly struck by the Saharawis cheerful and upbeat attitude, despite their grim situation of exile and poverty on the one hand, and occupation and violence on the other. In the UK, I hope that we can lift the blackout curtain that makes the Saharawi plight virtually invisible in our mainstream media. I also hope that we can ensure that our government does not support more illegal agreements with Morocco, such as the 2006 European Fisheries Agreement which, in flagrant violation of international law, allows EU countries to plunder Saharawi waters after depleting their own fishing resources.
Furthermore, recent reports signal that some states such as France are pushing for Morocco to be awarded an “advanced status” within the EU, outrageous considering Morocco’s human rights track record. If you are as angry about this as I am, and believe that our government should be pressing Morocco to respect human rights and UN calls for self-determination for the Saharawis instead of supporting illegal EU Agreements and selling the country arms, join War on Want’s campaign and write to Foreign Secretary David Miliband.
 |  | Western Sahara: 30 Years is Enough:
For 30 years the Saharawi people of Western Sahara have lived in refugee camps in some of the harshest conditions on earth, while their country remains under occupation by Morocco. |
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