SAHRAWI REFUGEES
Some 175,000 Saharawis have spent nearly 40 years as refugees in Algeria, hoping that the UN will resolve the occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco. It is one of the longest decolonization conflicts in history. Here are the voices of the refugees.
A cage, 2 feet by 5 feet, was Mohammed Ali Lehbib's home for the 14 years he spent in the Moroccan military prison of Kenitra. "It was such a small space you couldn't sit down. My neighbor died standing up, and they threw his body into the mass grave. Sometimes they would serve us rotten food covered in cockroaches. The first seven years, I only drank water out of the toilet." The Moroccan army captured him in the battle of Harechet Redi, 1983, when Mohammed was fighting for the decolonization of his country, Western Sahara. International pressure resulted in his release in 1996, and Mohammed went to put an end to the Saharawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, where he continues a life in waiting...
