Mulayahmed, one of the sons of the family, took me for a long walk around Smara. We visited the markets, where there are food, clothes and mobile phone shops, garages, restaurants and even a hairdresser.
The markets have emerged relatively recently, only in the last few years, and are a symbol of the eroding social cohesion of the camps. Previously, everyone worked for the state for free: able-bodied men on the front line and women, older men and children in the camps.
However, nowadays there is nowhere near enough food in international aid to go around, so people must find a source of money to supplement their basic rations with extra food bought in the market, imported from neighbouring countries.
This extra money might come from a relative working abroad, or from one of the many European families that participate in the programme “Holidays in Peace”, in which Saharawi children escape the stifling summer months for the more agreeable Spanish, Italian, French or even British climates. When the children return to the camps after the holidays, the parents often send money with them.
 |  | 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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