We are the SDAR, and we are not joking.

A brief account of Tifariti 27/2/2011, the 35th anniversary of the Saharawi Democratic Arab Republic.

The 35 year celebration of the declaration of the Saharawi Democratic Arab Republic was the time for POLISARIO to show their military strength, and make a clear statement that if nothing further happens, POLISARIO is an opponent to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

Furthermore, this was an opportunity for POLISARIO to once again prove themselves as a serious government that would manage their promised land wisely if given the opportunity. A great effort was made to show the foreigners that POLISARIO is a transparent government that plays by the rules.

The anniversary was celebrated in Tifariti, the military HQ of the liberated areas of Western Sahara, 300 or 400 km from the refugee camps in Algeria. There are no roads and the travel takes 7-11 hours in a Land Rover.

The program of the weekend was as follows:

Saturday the 26th: All important guests, foreigners and journalists arrived and settled in their tents, no official program before the next day.

Sunday the 27th: After breakfast people started to move towards the parade square. The president arrived at around 10.00, standing on the back of a jeep together with his generals, then shortly after, the military parade started.

The parade was very long, consisting mostly of regiments of marching soldiers. After the parade the president and other officials held their speeches. The seats on the platform of distinguished guests were almost empty by the time the last speech was over.

For lunch all VIPs (including the the official Norwegian delegation; us) were joined by his Excellency the president.

In the evening there was a concert, theater, and more speeches. The concert was slightly interrupted by rambling soldiers who were not allowed to enter. The concert continued smoothly only when the improvised fence surrounding the stage crashed down and the soldiers were able to join the crowds without much further noise.

Monday the 28th: In the morning there was a conference on sustainable development usage of the fragile nature in Western Sahara. Both conservation of species, the natural environment and clean energy solutions were presented and discussed.

Following the conference it was time for us to witness two mighty explosions in which POLISARIO honored the anti-landmine treaty by destroying a stockpile of landmines. After lunch the official program was over and we raced back to El Aioun in a tightly packed Toyota Land Cruiser.

The essence: This event told us that the SDAR is everything that a state should be, just without a land.

Are we now convinced that the Saharawi war machine will crush all resistance in the conquest of Sahara? And do we believe that the Sahrawis are ready to manage their land? Dear reader, please, read on to discover more of this magnificent story (more will come on this blog, soon!). Inshallah.

To us, the military parades seemed just a little bit too WW2. It consisted only of thousands of soldiers equipped with Kalashnikovs marching by, and displayed no vehicles. It is of course difficult to judge the capabilities of an army based solemnly on a parade, but let’s say that I do not share my students belief that a war can only lead to victory.

However I am much more optimistic about the abilities of POLISARIO to tackle the event of independence. Both my experience from the camps, and what I saw in Tifariti is that POLISARIO is very responsible and knows how to make people move.

35th Celebration of the Saharawi National Day

The 27th of February 1976 The Polasario Front proclaimed the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic. We are lucky enough to be able to participate in the celebration, which will take place in Tifariti in the liberated areas.

On the Sahara Press Service, the press agency of the Saharawi Republic one can find the following information:

SADR celebrates 35th anniversary in liberated territories

Shaheed El Hafed (Refugee Camps), February 24, 2011 (SPS) - The town of Tifariti, a symbol of resistance against the occupier, prepares to host Sunday the festivities marking the 35th anniversary of the proclamation of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in the liberated territories.

"By commemorating these festivities in Tifariti, we demonstrate more clearly that the Saharawi Republic exercises its sovereignty over the liberated parts of its national territory," organizers indicated.

The commemoration of the 35th anniversary of SADR counts on the presence of several official delegations to show their support for the decolonization of Western Sahara, occupied militarily since 1975 by the Kingdom of Morocco.

Moreover, the Wilayas organize Tuesday popular, cultural and sports festivities on this occasion, in the presence of "friends of the Saharawi people" from the five continents.

On the sidelines of the SADR anniversary, hundreds of athletes, from many countries, are expected Monday in the Wilaya of El Aaiun to take part in the "Sahara Marathon" in its 11th edition along with Sahrawi athletes.

(http://www.spsrasd.info/en/detail.php?id=16583)

In other words, it is very exciting times for Saharawis, Norwegians and around 300 other foreigners alike. We will be going to Tifariti by car, and are planning on staying for two days. We hope to see both military parades, the disarming of mines (which there are a lot of around the “wall of shame” which divides the occupied and the liberated areas – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroccan_Wall for more info), and whatever else the celebrations will consist of.

Pictures from the desert

Marius and Bjørnar at the "internet café"

El Aaiun

Dressing up for my (preseumed fictional) wedding

The current participants of the project

Picture by Saharawi artist Madi

The hill close to our house where the goats are kept

Bjørnar making tea

Saharawi human rights activists arriving in the camps from the occupied areas

Failed Norwegian Church Aid-project in El Aaiun

Situations

Marius writes:

This blogpost contains the first contriubtion to a collection of
situations in which you might just find yourself while living, working
and adapting to a new country and culture.

1) Sudden soap and perfume-attack:


After a long day of work and Arabic/Hassania lessons, we were out with
our host mother to look at the sunset from a small hill in the
outskirts of the Layoune Refugee Camp. Indeed a normal activity, the
sunsets in the desert are truly magical.

After watching the golden ball drop down behind the weak lights of
Tindouf, we headed home. On our way lived one of our host mother's
friends, and we went in to visit her. It was to be a (by Sahrawi
standards) very short visit, only an hour or so, as dinner was cooking
at home. Nevertheless, we entered and greeted mothers, brothers,
grandmothers, children, cats and goats alike. The greetings session is
a relieving and reassuring custom, and makes you feel welcome wherever
you are. We went into the living room, for the regular refreshments
and snacks.

The water and mango juice was served, accompanied by World Food
Programme Biscuits (to which Bjørnar exclaimed: "Are anybody
contemplating the fact that we are eating other people's WFP
biscuits?"). It was as tasty as that threesome can get, which is in
fact not bad at all. The conversation was flowing well, we were
showing and shown pictures of families and friends and whatnot.

A few moments later, we had slipped into a conversation in Norwegian
while our host mother and her friends enthusiastically discussed
something in Hassaniya. For some reason unknown, the hostess brought
forth a bucket containing various cleaning artifacts (fabric softener,
parfume, airfreshner, deodorant).

We perceived the initial spray of deodorant as a polite gesture,
indicating that perhaps this Norwegian delegation should entitle
itself to a few more weekly washes. However, when she moved onto the
fabric softener, we knew we were in for a proper cultural shock.

As the hostess continued to pour various soaps, lotions and
well-scented products over us (that is on our clothes, on our heads,
under our arms and all around), we could not help but burst into
laughter. We were literally rolling on the floor laughing, while the
Sahrawis present were amused by our confused amusement. It was a
situation to which no prep course could prepare us, and no
indoctrinations of cultural tolerance and understanding could prevent
our laughter. Our sole thought was: "This is freakin hilarous!".

Eventually, we were told that this intense spray-session was a
culturally accepted gesture, a remedy for the lack of general washing
facilities. It is a token of respect and friendship, really. We (and
our clothes) did indeed smell of soap and clean bathroom for the next
few days, whether this is an improvement is debatable. Regardless,
there were only good intentions behind it, and we now know another
unexpected thing to expect. We learn everything that cannot be taught.

Only in the Sahara!