09 November 2013

"The Nation" sheds light on forgotten conflict of Western Sahara



Washington, Nov 5, 2013 (SPS) - The U.S. weekly magazine “The Nation” published Monday a lengthy article about the forgotten conflict of Western Sahara, shedding the light on the reality in the Saharawi refugee camps and the occupied territories of Western Sahara.

Written under the title “Letter From Western Sahara, a Land Under Occupation” by the journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous of Egypt, the article stopped at the life experienced by the Saharawi people in the refugee camps and in the occupied Western Sahara.

The journalist, who took part at the Western Sahara International Film Festival, held last October in the Saharawi refugee camps of Dakhla, made interviews with Saharawi President, citizens, human rights activists and members of the Polisario Front leadership, in addition to some foreign guests, who were present at the FiSahara.

“We are now in the stage of peaceful resistance through an uprising, coupled with ongoing talks with the UN and Morocco,” said Mr. Mohamed Abdelaziz, President of the Republic and Secretary General of the Polisario Front, speaking to the U.S. weekly newspaper.

“We are in a just struggle for liberation. Like previous struggles in Algeria, East Timor and elsewhere, the logic of history always ends with justice,” he added.

The article highlighted that the Sahrawi women played a central role in building the basic structures to house schools, clinics and community centers in the Saharawi refugee camps.

“In all fronts you will find women leading the process, whether in the refugee camps or in the occupied territories,” Ms. Fatma al-Mehdi, Secretary General of the National Union of Saharawi Women, told the Nation.

“As Sahrawi women we are working not only to liberate our country but also to have an equal society,” she underlined.