El Aaiun - Culture

Like the liberation movements in other parts of Africa, especially the former Portuguese colonies, POLISARIO has had to concern itself not only with the armed struggle, but also with the sheer survival of the population and, as such, has had to organize food distribution, medical assistance, the construction of schools and hospitals, literacy courses and, in general, lay the groundwork for the future liberated society.

Recognition that the POLISARIO Front does indeed represent the Saharawi people has led a majority of African States to recognize it. But the Saharawis have gone one step further. On 27 February 1976, the day the last Spanish soldier left the territory, the y proclaimed at Bir Lahlou the creation of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic. Since then the Republic has been recognized by numerous African and other States.

The Republic was proclaimed on 27 February to emphasize that the Saharawi people had affirmed their sovereignty and that it was no longer possible for a new colonisation to take place. Since then, further shape has been given to the institutions of the Republic, in particular at the Third General Congress of POLISARIO, which was held in August 1976.Western Sahara is rich in mineral deposits, especially phosphates, uranium, iron, natural gas and oil. The fishing grounds are also very rich. There are large French and Spanish economic in terests in the area, which have important strategic aspects (the oil routes).

Seen in this light it is easier to understand all the obstructions, both open and concealed, that are being put in the way of the Saharawis' struggle for self-determination. Indeed it is important to see this fight in the much broader struggle of the Third World countries for control over their own natural resources

The refugee camps are situated in the western part of the Algerian desert, near the frontier between Algeria and the SADR. The are divided in 4 districts (wilaya) bearing the name of El Ayoun, the capital of Western Sahara; Smara, the sacred town; Dahla, the largest port and Aousserd, a little town in the interior of the country.

Each camp is sub-divided into 6 or 7 villages (daira), each village into 4 quarters. The organization of the camps, is almost entirely in the hands of the women. The majority of the men do not live in the camps, they are in the army.

The men, women and children of Western Sahara live here for nearly 20 years in one of the most inhospitable regions of the world. When they came to these regions, where the summer temperature rises to more than 50 degrees in the shade and in winter it is freezing cold, they did not find anything else than sand. It is solely thanks to the solid organization structure and the large feeling of solidarity, characteristic of these people, that they were able to build an organized society in this desert.

Nearly all the 20 year old youngsters were born in these camps. They did not have a great deal in handling matters and had very little to fall back on. At first, the mortality rate was very high, especially in the case of children. But thanks to a strong input on hygiene, the Sahrawi people was able to prevent epidemics and control the high infantile mortality rate. As a result of the policy adopted for dealing with food products destined for children, there are practically no longer cases of malnourishment. The greatest attention is focused on prevention by the Committee for Health Care, but treatment has also great importance. In the camps the women are trained to become assistant nurses for helping out in the dispensaries, a number of students are already being trained abroad to become nurses or doctors.

The Ministry for Health Care has continued to make progress. A new national hospital just opened. Inside the building, there are operation rooms and possibilities for giving treatments, physically as well as psychologically.

At the time of the Moroccan invasion the illiteracy rate of the Sahrawi's was 95%, a heritage from the Spanish colonisation. At present, after almost twenty years in exile, the Sahrawi's have succeeded in reversing this figure so that the number of people able to read and write is now 90%. In every village, there are creches and nursery schools, and in every province there are primary schools. For secondary education they have built two large boarding schools.

A certain number of students attend courses at universities in Algeria. Higher education has also been offered by a number of friendly countries. It is the constant aim of the Education Ministry to improve the potential of the Sahrawi population, not only to create the best possibilities in the camps, but above all to be better prepared for the reconstruction of the their own country after independence.

A great deal of attention has been concentrated on the campaign for the elimination of illiteracy. The majority of the adults have the opportunity to learn to read and write. Higher level courses result in a greater standard of education. Here it is essentially the National Union of Sahrawi Women which underlines the importance of these campaigns. The future taking part in the reconstruction and the management of their country by these Sahrawi women, depends on the possibilities of capable women. For the women, a certain number of «schools for women» were created. The 27th of February school was the first. Each year there are around 300 women who come with their families and their tent to the school. From September onwards, they follow a course lasting ten months: management, teaching, medical care or weaving.

For their children, there are projects for setting up creches, nursery schools and primary schools. For each tent there is a sanitary block and a kitchen which have been built to enable these women to have the possiblity of combining study and family welfare. The Olof Palme school is the first school for women to be found in a province; next year they want to start a second one.

What is relatively new, is the importance given to the Ministry of Culture. The Sahrawi people rely on songs, story telling, drawings and paintings to perpetuate their traditions and their history to the younger generations. War and the building of camps have caused a break-up in this cycle. «Every old person dying is like a library which has dissapeared». The Ministry of Culture wants to maximise chances given to the younger generation to become competent in this field. The Sahrawi people should be ready, after independence, to carry on the construction work using important elements taken from their own tradition and culture.

All has been done to put into motion a system for living as normal a life as possible under difficult circumstances. All the dispositions have been taken to survive for an eventual long time in the desert. At the same time, all their hopes have been founded on an eventual return to their own country.

The Western Sahara includes Saguiet el-Hamra in the north and Wadi ed Dahab (Rio de Oro) in the south. Its area of 284 000 square Kilometers, is one tenth the size of Algeria, half the size of France and just a little smaller than Italy. It lies between the 20th and 30th parallel straddling the Tropic of Cancer. It is bordered to the north by Morocco, by Algeria to the east, Mauritania to the south-east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

As with most African states, its boundaries are the result of agreements made among the colonial powers anxious to safeguard their interest in the region. In particular, they were defined in agreements made between France and Spain in 1900, 1904 and 1912.

The topography is mostly made up of plains and some small plateaus that rarely reach 400 meters. On the whole, the Western Sahara can be divided into three regions :

1) The northeast zone from the chain of Atlas mountains to the hills of Zemmour is a rocky desert (hamadas) with steep mountains and a pronounced relief except for a few scattered wells.

2) The second zone is made up of rivers. It includes the wadi Draa to the north and the Jat to the west. These wadis are often depressions where water gathers during the brief rainy seasons, particularly in autumn. Because of the high temperatures the water quickly evaporated and never reaches the sea. In this river zone flows the Saguiat el-Hamra (the Red Canal) whose importance lends its name to the region. Sufficient vegetation for grazing grows along its banks and at Smara, barley and corn are cultivated.

3) The third zone, the Rio de Oro, is inland and consists of flat plains, ergs and sand dunes. The ground is too permeable to retain the autumn waters and too flat to allow it to flow, hence water accumulates in the subsoil forming numerous wells. The inland landscape is quite monotonous and along the coast this monotony is only broken by the peninsulas of Dakhla (ex-Villa Cisneros) and Guera. Inland, the climate is continental with cold, dry winters while summers are extremely hot with temperatures reaching 60° (in the shade) and the coastal humidity causing fog, mist and dew. Dakhla receives a yearly average rainfall of only 45 millimeters. On the coast, vegetation and flora is abundant due to the humidity.Inland, one finds the typical flora of the steppe and desert; some locusts along the wadis and shrubs in the sandy depressions. To the south, there is little fauna and to the southeast, it is mainly fennecs, antelope and gerbils.