The Seguiat al Hamra river that runs along the northern edge of Laayoune is a place of fear.
For the Sahrawi youth who have been beaten and tortured at its edge, the shimmering water and wading birds, indeed its natural beauty and serene settings, is a mark of indifference betrayed only by the terrified eyes of 18-year old Ismaili Ahmed.
“They took me to the river, they beat me there, they tortured me, and then they left me there,” he says.
At a distance, you see the reflection of the opposing sand dunes on its surface. The glitter of the sun. An ideal getaway from the filth and tragedy of this occupied city where faces, both Moroccan and Sahrawi fade into images of a desolate urban landscape. But the closer you get, the more you realize Seguiat al Hamra's isolation and its hidden horrors and the details become crisp, clear, and terrifying.
I first happened upon this river by accident. Wondering through the narrow streets of the Suuk Djema, then following a path to crumbling mud baked wall, I asked a Moroccan soldier on his moped where the path led. “To the river,” he said and sped away.
It is wide and still. A green algae flourishes thick along the edge. Empty water bottles and rusting Pepsi cans appear stuck in the green swill. An odor of filth. Behind me the crumbling slum walls. A boy stands at the water's edge with several goats. In the distance, a truck speeds across the dune and then disappears and along with it, the roaring sounds of its engines. Quiet.
“They accused me of things I didn't do. They said I attacked the police,” he says.
The police came after him at night, around 9 pm during Ramadan earlier this year. They accused him and seven others of vandalizing a police car. They forced them to strip naked, took photos and threatened to send the pictures to pornographic web sites if they didn't stop protesting. They also threatened to pour acid on him he says.
“We are living under repression and oppression. Help us end this. We are struggling for independence.”
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