Saharawi

On October the 31st, 1975, the war between Morocco and Mauritania started. Over 30 years have passed since that day, the day that changed the Saharawi people forever. They were forced to seek refuge in the Sahara desert, in Algerian territory, where they built and sought shelter in camps. The war lasted until 1991 but even today the Saharawi people are living in the desert, in camps that have started to assimilate cities. The land that they once called home is still under Moroccan control. The 200,000 Saharawi people are experiencing one of the most interesting social and political conditions of our century: existing in a “State in Exile”. The refugees are distributed in 40 encampments, each one under the administrative control of a regional district. Each one is divided in 7 “Dairas”, then further divided under the name of a Saharawi province. In this way, through the spatial organization of the camps, the identification and legacy similar to that of their original land is recreated.
The Saharawi have strived to build a social organization where every member of the community has an active role, the old people are valorized and importantly, the women share responsibilities at every level. Even with a multitude of limitations and problems, the population continues living in these conditions thanks to the will of the human spirit and various aid from abroad, including NGOs’ and other associations.

Simone Donati

Saharawi

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