Giving birth in the desert

A few days ago one of the sisters in my family told me her story of pregnancy.
Being pregnant in the refugee camps must be so difficult and very dangerous. There is little health care and the risks are many. My sister told me that the first time she was pregnant, she was pregnant with twins. It was one boy and one girl. When the day came that she gave birth to them, she lost her babies. This tragedy repeated itself and the baby boy that she gave birth to a year or so later also died during childbirth. As she told me this I was in shock, but her face didn't show any sign of sadness. As a matter of fact not much emotion at all. It was as if she had talked about the loss of her babies a houndred times before and with time had managed to block out the emotions connected to the memory.
Suddenly her eyes lightened up and she smiled as she looked at Sheyach, her 6 months old baby boy. Sheyach had survived. Sheyach did not get hurt during birth, but his mother lost much blood and she is still recovering.
Sheyach is the centre of attention in our family. Everybody that comes in will hold him, feed him, play with him and talk to him. He is unique and very special. The family believes in his strength and they have even started feeding him camel meat and making him taste the Saharawi tea, so I am sure he will become a strong, intelligent Saharawi.
I have now been with Sheyach's family for 2 weeks and I've only heard him whine once. This baby really never cries. He is never left alone and always surrounded by love and laughter. It is amazing how the family here do everything together. There is no destinction between adult and child. There is no such thing here as "adult time" or "for adults only". The family is one and they share everything. The bonds between the family members and also amongst the Saharawis are very strong.

I want to tell one more pregnancy story. When the grandmother in our family was 9 month preganant, she rode a camel all alone in the Saharawi desert. She was on her way from one place to another when she suddenly had to give birth. She had no choice but to climb off the camel and give birth all alone in the sand. There was nobody around to help her. Luckily it went ok and nothing happened to the newborn baby girl, named Mula. The mother cut Mula's navel chord and rapped her in a blanket. She climbed back on the camel with the baby in her arms and rode to her destination.

These two true stories are examples that show the strength of the Saharawi people. It shows their determination and their resistance. Together it represents both the importance of ceasing the day and the hope for a better future.