A Forgotten Crisis: The Sahrawi Refugees in Algeria
The Arabic word Ṣaḥrāwī صحراوي means “Inhabitant of the Desert” and it refers to the ethnic group native to the western part of the Sahara Desert. This is one of the last remaining non-self-governing territories worldwide, disputed by both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Algeria-based Polisario Front*.
Formerly a Spanish colony (1884-1976), the modern territory of Western Sahara was partitioned and occupied by Mauritania and Morocco following the Madrid Accords. This treaty was promptly challenged by Algeria and the Polisario Front, which led to a decades-long conflict. This has created 90,000 vulnerable refugees* to this day, some of whom have been displaced for nearly half a century while others have only ever known one of the 5 refugee camps spread across Algeria’s Tindouf province as their home.
Here, refugees remain vulnerable to natural hazards as the desert is liable to flash floods and sandstorms. Furthermore, the weather conditions in the area cause food insecurity and water scarcity, making 94% of the refugees depend on humanitarian assistance. In 2021, the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations reported that half of the child and female Sahrawi populations suffer from anaemia.
Due to its protracted nature, lack of international political commitment and media interest, the Western Sahara conflict has been called a “forgotten crisis”. As recently as August of this year, the World Food Programme (WFP) was forced to cut food rations by 75% due to funding gaps and increasing prices. While the European Union contributed 5.8 million euros on November 21, the WFP’s Representative and Country Director in Algeria Imed Khanfir has warned that “[a]dditional funding from other donors is vital to bring an appropriate response to this emergency.”
Notes
*This independence movement is known thus from the Spanish abbreviation of Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro.
*The total number of Sahrawi refugees is believed to be much higher, though it remains a matter of contention. While the estimations now surpass 173,600 displaced Sahrawis, the Moroccan government previously contended that the number of refugees is much lower and that these are unwillingly held in the camps by Polisario.
Sources
https://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-welcomes-eu58-million-european-union-support-sahrawi-refugees-algeria
