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Musik Världs Musik The long journey home
Musik Världs Musik The long journey home
| The long journey home |
| Skrivet av Derya Aktas |
| 2010-07-23 22:01 |
As you start your homeward journey to the airport after your travels you may be filled with a range of emotions which can leave a lasting impression of the destination. Read Urbanlife writer Derya Aktas account of when she visited the Western Sahara as a volunteer. Modu, Mari & Alam 70 km to Tindouf Airport
Bob Marley is playing in our driver, Ahmed’s speakers. Kilometers decrease while driving on one of the few highways in the Sahara desert. Desert after desert, yet the infinity of Africa's largest desert was lost in the reggae tones. The sun had set and the stars made room for the Big Dipper. Darkness appeared and from nowhere a satellite came hovering and disappeared with time and merged in the star-packed sky. We will soon be arriving at Tindouf airport to fly home to Sweden. The first thought that struck me was that I would sleep in my soft bed, with my soft blanket together with my soft pillow, and to take a never ending hot shower without electricity interruption. I thought about it and realized that if I kept going there would be a numerous of “and”. Then I thought of the endless resources we have in our own country that we can take advantage of and swarm ourselves in. What a privilege. 50 km away from Tindouf AirportI think about the three weeks I spent in Western Sahara, how quickly time had passed since the day I was placed with a family in Refugee Camp 27. It was four o'clock in the morning and the insects that coaxed in the dark realized they had a new prey to attack. And so they did, the first night I had a myriad of different unsymmetrical bites from head to toe by insects unknown to me, but I know that the refugee Sahrawi’s, have been forced to live with these insects for 30 years. Yes, you heard right. For 30 years they have been occupied and deprived of their homeland. It’s unacceptable. 30 km away from Tindouf AirportI think of the memorable meeting we had with the old veterans in one of the refugee camps called Dajla. "Tomorrow is like today and tomorrow is like yesterday" said a veteran speaker with a disappointed expression. The quote is one of the most memorable quotes I've heard. But now when I look back at that scenario, maybe I should not highlight it, perhaps the old veteran would rather not want to remember this quote. For this quote reminds him that his deeds as a warrior and defender of his country weren’t sufficiently strong enough to overcome The Moroccans domination. 20 km away from Tindouf Airport
I am thinking of the time we drove through the pitch black desert in Dajla to reach our final destination, the dunes. I felt like an observer in Disney's "Aladdin". When our driver, Ahmed turned on the car light a giant sand dune appeared in the darkness. I was amazed by the surreal view; this was something I had only seen in the movies. Our informant Sayid and our guide Salek grabbed our hands together with the family's younger children and tried to make themselves understood by using Spanish, French, Arabic and a little English, then pointed up to the sand dune. Before we knew it, we climbed up and were ready to slide down. It was an amazing experience. Sahrawi’s have never experienced real sledding like we have during the Swedish winters. The majority have never seen snow, nor swam in the sea, due to the fact that the Moroccans occupy four-thirds of their country, which includes the sea and greenery. 10 km away from Tindouf Airport
I think of when we stayed in the refugee camp Rabboni and saw a UN car overturned as a result of an accident. The sand formed a fog, and when the fog disappeared a human body appeared, it was the first time we had seen a female driver. We found out the day after whilst reading Al Jazeera that the woman was badly injured but alive. Thereafter we headed directly to the "The Wall of Shame", which is the wall Moroccans have used to separate the Moroccans from the Sahrawis. We were about 10m away from the minefield when Salek started screaming “donkey” in Arabic to the Moroccan soldiers and threw an old mine towards them. I saw how the soldiers twitched, and I don’t think I've ever been so scared. It's quite ironic how easy it is to resume power with a gun in your hand. It is debatable whether this is right or wrong, but when you finally see the damage caused in front of you, you can only ask yourself that question again. 0 km away from Tindouf AirportWe have arrived at the airport and I think about that day I applied for this volunteer trip and the hopes I had to be accepted. In retrospect I don’t regret applying nor do I regret this experience, for it has given me different perspectives and values. The reason I applied in the first place was to experience something out of the ordinary and to gain new knowledge about the unknown and to later spread everything I have learnt. I also wanted to broaden my horizon in the writing and language fields. I feel as if I have raised awareness of the situation in the Western Sahara and that people who will read this are inspired to investigate this issue further to later pass on what they’ve learnt. Now the Last Call sign for departing has started to shine. Farewell heat. Hello cold. /Derya Aktas Photo: Derya Aktas Derya Aktas Bibliography
 Derya Aktas is born 1989 in Stockholm, Sweden. She has since early age been very interested in writing and been in touch of her creative side. She paints and draws sporadically in her free time. Creativeness feeds her soul and is what inspires her with everything she does. She has also studied in English since pre-school and is why she preferably tends to write in English even though she knows Swedish perfectly fine. She is also very interested in different cultures and ethnicities. |
Kommentarer
First of all, let me correct some wrong facts with my dodgy english. You weren’t in Western Sahara. You were in the wilaya of Tindouf south Algeria. It’s quite far from the Western Sahara.
Then, Morocco has never expelled the saharawis. Those who are living in Tindouf camps WERE FORCED to go and stay in these camps in the mid 70’. Some of them were kidnapped. They all were transported in military trucks. They got scared by Polisario militaries about genocide to come after the peaceful recovering of the Western Sahara by Morocco. Of course, you did hear that Morocco used napalm and many other horrors. I am sorry to tell you that everything you heard is about lies or at least exaggerated. In a context of cold war and revolutionary spirit, this Marxist movement (Polisario Front) took place to plot the monarchy in Morocco (American Block). This faction was supported by Lybia then Algeria (USSR Block). They had the most sophisticated weapons to face the Moroccan army from 1976 till 1991. These weapons were made in the USSR and sponsored by Lybia and Algeria. From 1976 till now, Morocco is welcoming every Saharawi who flee the ‘camps of shame’. Since the establishment of the camps more than 7000 saharawis returned to Morocco. Till nowadays when people succeed on getting out of the camps, they return to Morocco via Mauritania or Spain. FYI, the founders of Polisario Front did their studies in Rabat at the University of Mohammed V. So, all of them were originally MOROCCANS. They withdrew their Moroccan nationality when they were bitted on strike in Tan-Tan. More to read about the story here www.sahara-online.net/eng/SaharaHistory/SaharaConflictHistory/tabid/714/Default.aspx
There was no domination at all. Morocco recovered the legitimate land of the Western Sahara region in 1975 after more than 63 years of Spanish colonization. Before 1912, Morocco was united from the north to the south (Western Sahara region).
The wall was built in a context of war. Polisario Front had the most sophisticated weapons of that time. It’s a wall of protection to save the lives of the unionist saharawis and their interests. As you may don’t know, there are unionist saharawis in the Western Sahara region and they represent the majority in the region. They are supporting autonomy as the ultimate solution to this absurd conflict legacy of the cold war. They are represented by an official body under the name of CORCAS since 206. Corcas members are doing their best to re-establish a hidden truth on the Western Sahara issue on Internet. Bear in mind, this wall is protecting the whole Europe from many kinds of traffic running actually in the Sahel.
My final advice, don’t be under the spell of VICTIMIZATION. Polisario Front leaders and officials are all except angels. They killed and tortured many dissidents with the support of Algeria. People are resigned in Tindouf camps. Think of how a normal human been can support such misery if it’s not about RESIGNATION! All those who express their will to get better life conditions are killed and tortured. That’s the reality in the camps.
To me the Polisario Front is the Africa’s last calumny. I hope that the 50.000 people living in Tindouf camps will be allowed peacefully to return to their homeland in the very near future instead of risking their life to flee.
Last but not least, bear in mind that every question/thesis has a response/antithesis in the Western Sahara issue.
Kind Regards
Ahmed Salem Amr Khaddad
Unionist Western Saharawi
More to read on the Western Sahara region (made by CORCAS members) :
http://www.corcas.com
http://www.sahaar-online.net
http://www.sahara-culture.com
http://www.sahara-villes.com
http://www.sahara-developpement.com
http://www.sahara-social.com
Web TV : http://www.corcas.tv
:roll:: :twisted: :twisted:
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