Get on the Saharawi Caravan!

The Western Sahara has recently been on the news again with the civil war largely forgotten over the last 30 years. My contact with the Saharawi caravan has largely been out of curiousity. The Polisario Front is well known as an African Liberation movement that resisted the Spanish during their colonisation period. Now today it is a NEW master... Morocco. In 1975 seeing a vacuum the Morrocan King ordered by claim of histroical right the invasion of Western Sahara territory.

The Polisario Front went back underground and they continued their resistance struggle against their new masters. Although the Moroccan and the Saharawi are both Muslims...they have become bitter enemies...both in a struggle in their claim for the land. All of this is history but what I want to speak about here in this article is how I became interested in this part of the world.

Many years ago I aplied for a place in the Spanish Foreign Legion - I think I was about 19 at the time and like any adventurer I was interested in adventure. Anyway, I met this guy in Israel on a moshav and he told me that the Spanish Foreign legion were recruiting... well I almost took him up on his offer and joined up... that was the first time I had heard of what was then known as the Spanish Sahara...

I'm glad I didnt. But, when youre young ...sometimes you do stupid things because they sound like a good idea at the time... and well I was practically game for anything... anyway, I was looking up on the Frontline clubs websit and saw that there was going to be a parliamentary commmittee on the western sahara by some genuie saharawi people. I was babysitting that night but decided this was too good an opportunity to miss so made a plan to see the presentation... besides I love deserts and this part of the world seemed quite fascinating - also I was interested in Morrocco and the search for Madeleine so I thought ... what if?

to cut a long story short, I listened to what was being said... and it seems that the saharawi people are getting the short end of the stick and and their country is being raped by the King of Morrocco... - all the natural resources for example the fish thats caught goes to Europe and Morroco profits from it. ( next time you eat fuish ask where it was caught)

Well, I dont like to judge anything until I see it for myself... so- after ( I had this card printed )

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