Ali Salem Salma, 41, mit seiner Frau Nabba und seinem Sohn Khadda im Flüchtlingslager Smara. Die Saharauis in der Westsahara kämpfen seit Jahrzehnten in ihrem von Marokko kontrollierten Gebiet an der algerischen Grenze für ihre Unabhängigkeit. In den 80er Jahren baute Marokko einen 2.700 km langen, verminten Sandwall, der die Westsahara teilt. Die meisten Saharauis leben hinter diesem Wall oder in Flüchtlingslagern in Algerien. Die frühere spanische Kolonie ist die letzte offene Angelegenheit der Dekolonisationskommission der UN in Afrika. Nach einer 2003 angenommenen UN-Resolution sollte die Westsahara fünf Jahre lang eine halbautonome Region Marokkos sein, gefolgt von einem Referendum über Unabhängigkeit. Das Referendum ist noch nicht abgehalten worden.
Smara Refugee Camp, Algeria
Ali Salem Salma, aged 41, with his wife Nabba and son Khadda. The Saharawi people of Western Sahara have been involved in a decades-long dispute for independence, in land controlled by Morocco along the border with Algeria. A former Spanish colony, Western Sahara is Africa’s last open file at the United Nations Decolonization Committee. Morocco invaded the territory in 1975, forcing the Spanish to withdraw. Spain divided the land between Morocco and Mauritania. A Saharawi rebel group, the Polisario Front, which had formed earlier to fight the Spanish, began a guerilla war against the new occupiers, with the backing of Algeria, and forced the withdrawal of Mauritania in 1979. In the 1980s, Morocco built a 2,700-kilometer-long sand barrier and planted it with mines, dividing Western Sahara in two. Most Saharawi live in the inland desert behind this barrier, or in refugee camps in Algeria.
Photo credit:
Panos Pictures
Andrew McConnell speaks about the project:
"I shot this series between Algeria, and Western Sahara. Western Sahara is divided in two by a wall - Morocco controls the larger coastal part and the Polisario controls the smaller inland part. Having lived and worked in Africa for a number of years, I was intrigued by Western Sahara as it was always the country on that continent that I heard the least about. So I read the history and was shocked to learn that the conflict there had never been resolved and that tens of thousands of indigenous Saharawi were still languishing in Algerian refugee camps. I thought it was a story that simply had to be told.
The style of photography came about because I wanted the images to have a strong message: to relate to the outside world the Saharawi issue and the injustice. I wanted to give a sense that this is one long night for the Saharawis, one lasting 35 years. To show very little of the land emphasizes that they are landless, and very simply by lighting them in the darkness I was saying, "Look! These people are here!" Finally I wanted the viewer to see what I had seen; a people utterly forgotten, abandoned, out of the world's consciousness: a people as ghosts."
Ali Salem Salma, de 41 años, con su esposa Nabba e hijo Khadda, en el campo de refugiados de Smara. Los saharauis del Sáhara Occidental viven en una disputa por la independencia del territorio controlado por Marruecos en la frontera argelina. En la década de 1980, Marruecos construyó un muro minado de 2.700 km que divide el Sáhara Occidental en dos. La mayoría de los saharauis viven en el desierto detrás de esta barrera o en campos de refugiados en Argelia. El Sáhara Occidental, una antigua colonia española, es el último fichero abierto del Comité de Descolonización de Naciones Unidas. Una resolución de la ONU, adoptada en 2003, propuso convertir al Sáhara Occidental en una región semiautónoma de Marruecos durante un plazo de cinco años, tras los cuales se realizaría un referéndum de autodeterminación. El referéndum está a punto de realizarse.
Ali Salem Salma, 41 ans, avec sa femme Nabba et son fils Khadda, dans le camp de réfugiés de Smara. Les Sahraouis (Sahara occidental) luttent depuis des décennies pour l’indépendance d’une terre contrôlée par le Maroc à la frontière algérienne. Dans les années 80, le Maroc a construit un mur de sable miné, de 2 700 km, divisant le Sahara occidental en deux. Les Sahraouis vivent aujourd’hui dans le désert derrière ce mur ou dans des camps en Algérie. Ancienne colonie espagnole, le Sahara occidental est le dernier dossier africain non clos de la Commission de décolonisation de l’ONU. Une résolution de l’ONU, adoptée en 2003, a proposé que le Sahara occidental obtienne le statut de région semi-autonome pour cinq ans, avant la tenue d’un référendum sur l’indépendance. Le référendum n’a toujours pas eu lieu.
Ali Salem Salma, 41 anni, con la moglie Nabba e il figlio Khadda, nel campo profughi di Smara. Da decenni il popolo Saharawi del Sahara occidentale lotta per l’indipendenza, in un territorio controllato dal Marocco lungo il confine con l’Algeria. Negli anni ’80 il Marocco ha eretto un muro di sabbia lungo 2.700 km, dividendo a metà il Sahara occidentale. La maggior parte dei Saharawi vive dietro questa barriera o in campi profughi in Algeria. Il Sahara occidentale, ex colonia spagnola, è l’ultimo dossier ancora aperto del Comitato di Decolonizzazione dell’ONU. Una risoluzione dell’ONU, approvata nel 2003, proponeva per il Sahara occidentale lo status di regione semi-autonoma del Marocco. Dopo un periodo di 5 anni, avrebbe dovuto esserci un referendum sull’indipendenza, che ad oggi non si è ancora tenuto.
Ali Salem Salma (41) met echtgenote Nabba en zoon Khadda in het opvangkamp Smara. De Saharawi strijden al decennia voor autonomie in het gebied langs de Algerijnse grens dat door Marokko wordt overheerst. In de jaren tachtig legde Marokko een 2.700 km lange strook mijnenvelden aan, die de Westelijke Sahara in tweeën deelt. De meeste Saharawi wonen ten oosten van deze grens in de woestijn of in vluchtelingenkampen. Als ex-kolonie van Spanje is de Westelijke Sahara het laatste open dossier van de dekolonisatiecommissie van de VN. In 2003 nam de VN een resolutie aan om de Westelijke Sahara 5 jaar de status van semi-autonome regio in Marokko te verlenen, gevolgd door een referendum over autonomie. Het referendum moet nog worden gehouden.
