For the past couple of days I have been receiving a series of disturbing photos from a part of the world that I had once reported on. The struggle for human rights in the occupied territories of the Western Sahara is on that has endured for over thirty years. In the hot desolate deserts in south-western Algeria reside, etch out a living, over one hundred thousands Saharawi refugees – also for over thirty years. Their lot is one that has been glossed over, passed and forgotten by the world. It is a sad reality.
In Laayoune, a dusty military and civil town in the Western Sahara, Moroccan soldiers are en masse. MINURSO, the United Nations mission to the Western Sahara is barricaded behind a high wall. The wall is aligned by dozens of Moroccan flags – a star on a red back ground – making the single blue UN flag barely visible. It is the only UN mission not to have a human rights mandate – thanks largely to France in the Security Council. The Moroccan soldiers that stand guard in front serve a duel purpose – to keep an ‘eye’ on the UN and to kick into the dust any Saharwi that so dares stage a protest its presence.
So when I received a testimony from another Saharawi, abducted and abused by the order of force, it reminds me of struggles so many have to endure to obtain the most basic of rights. On March 10, police grabbed a 19 year old Saharawi student off the street in plain day light. A couple of days prior, the Saharawi had staged a protest in the city. Their demands are simple. The United Nations has recognized the right of the Saharawi for self-determination. This has been denied by the Moroccan for over three decades. She was taken to the outskirts and interrogated before finally being released.
An 8 year old Saharwai boy was also arrested. According to his mother, Mrs. Saaida Moussaoui, Moroccan authorities beat the boy.
The letter says:
Age: 1985
The hospital refused to treat her because she is Saharawi. The doctors are afraid they will face repercussions.
