Action speaks louder than words

Life should have been more or less back to normal by now as it has been four days since we returned from 27th February (an administrative camp not to far from where we live) where we spent two days on a religious conference on human rights in the bible and the qu'ran, enjoying the luxuries of electricity and internet access. Also, seeing as Id Adha (an Islamic holiday in remembrance of Abraham's sacrifice of Ishmael. Same story as in the bible, but with the other son, and supposedly taking place in Mekka, where the Kaba is standing today) is coming up next week, the camp should be teeming with life and expectation. This, however, is not the case. Although people go about their business as usual, and preparations for the feast are being made, most are thinking more about their relatives and friends in the occupied areas than on whatever is going on here.

Last night Morocco made it pretty clear that their attendance at the informal meetings arranged between the two parts in the Western Sahara conflict, is nothing but an attempt to keep the UN happy. During the night before the last day of negotiations Moroccan forces attacked the tents set up outside El Aiun using (according to a friend of mine who just started working in the Saharawi media handling information coming from outside of the refugee camps) teargas and hot water, driving military vehicles through the tents, setting them on fire, and firing real ammunition, not rubber bullets as is sometimes used when police try to break up violent demonstrators. Until now, the demonstrations of the Saharawis has, according to our sources, been completely nonviolent, but as they were forced back into the El Aiun, many took to the streets rioting. Shops and banks has been set on fire, as has the local TV-station, and the city is in chaos. We have been told that between 20 and 30 Saharawis were killed, including a young boy that was hit by a car, and several hundred wounded (this was on tuesday, the 9th). The number of dead will probable rise in the next few days as wounded Saharawis keep away from the hospitals for fear of being arrested. The situation is, to put it mildly, out of control, and the pressure on Polisario to do something else than talking is growing. A lot of people were shocked when the Saharawi representatives decided to continue the meetings in the US after hearing about what the Moroccan military had done.

Most of the people living in “our” refugee camp now wants war, and even if Polisario is able to calm them down temporarily, there is no telling what will happen next fall, when the congress is to decide the future politics of the government. Last congress, the majority wanted war, but the leaders asked for just a little more time (originally they asked for just six more months) to try and find a peaceful solution. Four years has passed since then, and nothing has happened. After 35 years in limbo people no longer have faith in the UN and dialogue. For most, war seems like their best, if not to say only, chance of ever winning their independence.