Western Sahara News

Saharawi Voice  compiles the “stories from the forgotten people of Africa's last colony”, with the aim of conveying a sense of daily life in Western Sahara and the hardships of living in an occupied territory. Western Sahara  is a disputed territory in the  Maghreb  region of North Africa, and one of the most sparsely populated places in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. Nearly 40% of the population lives in El Aaiún, the largest city in Western Sahara. Occupied by Spain since the late 19th century, in 1975 it relinquished administrative control of the territory to a joint administration between Morocco and Mauritania. A war erupted between those countries and the Sahrawi national liberation movement, the  Polisario Front , proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic  (SADR) with a government-in-exile in  Tindouf , Algeria. Mauritania withdrew in 1979, and Morocco eventually secured effective control of most of the territory. Over the past two decade

In October of last year a Canadian company imported possibly the first conflict materials into the country since the South African Apartheid. Even though the phosphate rock bought is from the Bou Craa mines in Western Sahara, the money has ended up in the hands on the Moroccan government. As purchases of this nature become commonplace in the international community, serious questions are raised concerning their legality and the impact they are having on progress to the region. In October 2010 a shipment of Phosphate arrived on the shore on North Vancouver carrying a cargo of worth $10 million. The new owner of this shipment is Calgary based agricultural business ‘Agrium’, who have entered into an agreement with Morocco to buy 1 million tones a year until 2020, a deal worth over $100 million. Mike Watson, president and CEO of Agrium, said: “We believe this agreement signifies the start of a significant partnership between Agrium and Morocco, offering clear benefits to bot

by Khalil Asmar If you stop the loud noises coming from the fanfare of the Moroccan media, about its diplomats-special envoys-flamboyantly adventurous trips and achievements in central and South-America, you will be deafened by the absurd silence its diplomacy makes. In other words, big hats no cattle. The king grouped all his ambassadors last year, announcing he wanted to give his diplomacy a new road-map, a Facelift actually. Because underneath this cosmetic surgery, still lay the old wrinkles of the old weak foreign policy of Rabat. The king sent a flamboyant group of envoys or as they are also known as "experts in corruption diplomats" to Haiti, Panama and Paraguay to gain their support for the autonomy plan in Western-Sahara. They have also made a quick stop in the Dominican Republic. The first three countries mentioned above, have had supported the Polisario and the call for the self determination of the people of Western-Sahara. But as history recalls

Morocco is likely to seek investment for new solar power plants from Arabian Gulf states, after tensions between the government and the regional independence movement the Polisario Front put European investment in the country’s disputed Western Sahara region at risk, according to Reuters. The country’s solar energy agency announced plans for five plants in the Western Sahara in 2009, which it will seek to tender imminently. The German development bank KFW, the European Investment Bank and the European Union, have all expressed reluctance to invest in the politically contested region, however. “If we support those investments, it would look like we are supporting the Moroccan position. We are neutral regarding that conflict,” one source, who declined to be named, told Reuters. In 1975, when the region’s Spanish colonists withdrew, the Western Sahara was annexed by Morocco and Mauritania. The Polisario Front had been campaigning for independence while the territory wa

(SeeNews) - Jan 6, 2014 - KfW Ipex-Bank GmbH, the World Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Union (EU) are not willing to finance Morocco’s ambitious solar projects in Western Sahara due to the political conflict there, Reuters said Thursday citing sources. Yet, the news agency quoted other informants as saying that some alternative funds could come in the form of bilateral financing from Arab Gulf states. A few years ago Morocco unveiled plans to install 4,000 MW of solar and wind power capacity by the end of the decade. Several parks are intended to be built in Western Sahara where the Algeria-backed Polisario Front is currently fighting for independence. One of the bank sources told Reuters that supporting any of the renewable energy projects in Western Sahara could be considered by some as support for Morocco’s position. The banks aim to remain neutral to the Morocco-Algeria conflict. Reuters cited Morocco’s Mines and Energy Minister Abdelkade

In early December 2013, I arrived in La’ayoune, the capital of the Western Sahara. The issues that frame the Sahrawi people’s ongoing struggle for independence had led me to the refugee camps of Smara, Dakhla and Tindouf. The legal status of the Western Sahara and the question of sovereignty remain unresolved. The territory is contested between Morocco and the Polisario Front. It is considered a non-self governed occupied territory by the United Nations. In Morocco, meanwhile, there is no debate as to whom the region belongs to; “it is Morocco’s land, it has always been part of our country” my taxi driver tells me quite confidently. Speaking about the issue over dinner raised a few eyebrows too. As for those directly suffering, the Sahrawi people, the outlook for the ongoing colonisation of their land can be best described as a political stalemate. The Saharawi people want to be granted the dignity of being met on their own terms, the recognition that they are equal to

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes. (Marcel Proust) I am pleased to now be featuring photographs by renowned Mexican photographer Rodrigo Jardon. Rodrigo spent two weeks in the refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, taking photos of the landscape and the Sahrawis that inhabit it. The photographs are not only visually stunning but also give a real insight into the lifestyle in the camps. The images of the buildings and infrastructure allow us to see the amount of development that the Sahrawis have achieved in the 38 years since the camps were established. The portraits, on the other hand, show us that happiness and determination are still forceful entities in the camp, giving hope to a place otherwise shrouded in suffering and loss. Despite what most people would assume the camps are (more often than not) a place of normality, where the steadfastness of the people keep them smiling through the extreme heat and difficult circumstan