Opinion: J'ai travaillé au Sahara occidental. N'écoutez pas ceux qui sapent les accords Maroc-Israël dirigés par les États-Unis.
[22:52, 18/02/2021] Zz: Opinion: I worked in the western Sahara. Don't listen to those undermining the U.S.-led Morocco-Israel Agreemen
Nancy Huff
Late last year, the United States brokered a diplomatic accord between Israel and Morocco. This agreement resembled others the U.S. had helped negotiate between Israel and countries in the Middle East, and the goal in each case was the same: Peace in an unstable region and the hope of commerce and cultural exchange.
As a part of the Israel-Morocco deal, President Donald Trump recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the area known as Western Sahara. Morocco has a long relationship with Western Sahara, administering the area since 1974. The U.S recognition of Moroccan sovereignty seeks to bring peace to the region — one that has been challenged for decades by a separatist group known as the Polisario.
The small things get an upgrade to make the everyday exceptional
I have a personal connection to this issue: For seven years, at the Polisario’s request, I facilitated the shipping of ocean-going containers of food and medical containers to Polisario-run Tindouf camps. These camps located in Algeria are populated by ethnic Sarawhis, who claim Western Sahara as home. My experience administering this aid left me convinced that the Polisario does very little to help the Sarawhis in the camps and that the best hope for the people of this region is Moroccan administration over the Western Sahara.
The Polisario controls all humanitarian aid designated for the Tindouf Camps. Much of the aid I send in the form of wheelchairs, medical supplies and food never reaches the Tindouf camps, let alone the people in them. In 2015, the European Anti-Fraud Office issued a report on Western Sahara. It revealed the Polisario and Algerian generals’ role in diverting aid containers to the black market at every juncture from the port of Oran to the camps. I sent aid that never made it to the people it was supposed to help, a problem that the World Food Program and the European Union’s humanitarian assistance also encountered. Eventually, my organization stopped sending aid to the Polisario-run camps.
Worse still, we saw that the Polisario leaders prospered and lived lavishly while the Sarawhi in the camps suffered. Sadly, I’d seen this before: From 1971 to 1989, I assisted those living under Communist leaders in Eastern Europe and Russia. Similarly, we tried to give them assistance, food and necessary supplies. And again, I watched as the countries’ leaders had cars, warm houses and food for their families — all while the people they were “fighting for” lived in poverty.
The Polisario has convinced the world that it speaks on behalf of Sahrawi refugees and has their best interests at heart. And yet, their track record is abysmal. In addition to squirreling away aid intended for the Sawawhi people, the Polisario broke a long-standing ceasefire last fall and used the Sahrawi population to occupy this U.N. buffer zone. This is unconscionable, and it adds to a growing body of evidence of Polisario’s misdeeds in this conflict.
The Polisario wages a massive publicity war among certain press outlets and members of Congress. Its leadership has been successful in convincing many that it is the dedicated Sahrawi representative. Thus, politicians in the U.S. have openly called into question the recent Morocco agreement and the U.S. recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. For the Polisario, keeping this region in dispute is good politics — that means decades more strife and controversy, which keeps the Sahrawi in limbo while the Polisario prosper.
The U.S. should be commended in its decision last year to oppose the Polisario and stand with the Moroccan government. Morocco has invested billions of dollars into Western Sahara and turned the once-nomadic desert into thriving cities. I have spoken with Sahrawhis who live in the Western Sahara, who relayed to me the freedom and prosperity they experience by living in the region. That is a sharp difference from the Polisario-run camps — where the average person suffers under leaders who do not have their best interests at heart.
For too long, the Polisario has held back the people in the camps. The austere conditions in the Tindouf camps should tell us everything we need to know about Polisario leadership. There is no reason for the U.S. to believe that they would serve the people of Western Sahara well. I urge those U.S. politicians who question the Israel-Morocco agreement to take a hard look at the people making such claims.
Nancy Huff is president and founder of Teach the Children International, a Tulsa-based nonprofit organization that reaches out to children at risk in the United States and abroad and works with refugee communities around the world.
[22:52, 18/02/2021] Zz: Opinion: I worked in the western Sahara. Don't listen to those undermining the U.S.-led Morocco-Israel Agreemen
Nancy Huff
Late last year, the United States brokered a diplomatic accord between Israel and Morocco. This agreement resembled others the U.S. had helped negotiate between Israel and countries in the Middle East, and the goal in each case was the same: Peace in an unstable region and the hope of commerce and cultural exchange.
As a part of the Israel-Morocco deal, President Donald Trump recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the area known as Western Sahara. Morocco has a long relationship with Western Sahara, administering the area since 1974. The U.S recognition of Moroccan sovereignty seeks to bring peace to the region — one that has been challenged for decades by a separatist group known as the Polisario.
The small things get an upgrade to make the everyday exceptional
I have a personal connection to this issue: For seven years, at the Polisario’s request, I facilitated the shipping of ocean-going containers of food and medical containers to Polisario-run Tindouf camps. These camps located in Algeria are populated by ethnic Sarawhis, who claim Western Sahara as home. My experience administering this aid left me convinced that the Polisario does very little to help the Sarawhis in the camps and that the best hope for the people of this region is Moroccan administration over the Western Sahara.
The Polisario controls all humanitarian aid designated for the Tindouf Camps. Much of the aid I send in the form of wheelchairs, medical supplies and food never reaches the Tindouf camps, let alone the people in them. In 2015, the European Anti-Fraud Office issued a report on Western Sahara. It revealed the Polisario and Algerian generals’ role in diverting aid containers to the black market at every juncture from the port of Oran to the camps. I sent aid that never made it to the people it was supposed to help, a problem that the World Food Program and the European Union’s humanitarian assistance also encountered. Eventually, my organization stopped sending aid to the Polisario-run camps.
Worse still, we saw that the Polisario leaders prospered and lived lavishly while the Sarawhi in the camps suffered. Sadly, I’d seen this before: From 1971 to 1989, I assisted those living under Communist leaders in Eastern Europe and Russia. Similarly, we tried to give them assistance, food and necessary supplies. And again, I watched as the countries’ leaders had cars, warm houses and food for their families — all while the people they were “fighting for” lived in poverty.
The Polisario has convinced the world that it speaks on behalf of Sahrawi refugees and has their best interests at heart. And yet, their track record is abysmal. In addition to squirreling away aid intended for the Sawawhi people, the Polisario broke a long-standing ceasefire last fall and used the Sahrawi population to occupy this U.N. buffer zone. This is unconscionable, and it adds to a growing body of evidence of Polisario’s misdeeds in this conflict.
The Polisario wages a massive publicity war among certain press outlets and members of Congress. Its leadership has been successful in convincing many that it is the dedicated Sahrawi representative. Thus, politicians in the U.S. have openly called into question the recent Morocco agreement and the U.S. recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. For the Polisario, keeping this region in dispute is good politics — that means decades more strife and controversy, which keeps the Sahrawi in limbo while the Polisario prosper.
The U.S. should be commended in its decision last year to oppose the Polisario and stand with the Moroccan government. Morocco has invested billions of dollars into Western Sahara and turned the once-nomadic desert into thriving cities. I have spoken with Sahrawhis who live in the Western Sahara, who relayed to me the freedom and prosperity they experience by living in the region. That is a sharp difference from the Polisario-run camps — where the average person suffers under leaders who do not have their best interests at heart.
For too long, the Polisario has held back the people in the camps. The austere conditions in the Tindouf camps should tell us everything we need to know about Polisario leadership. There is no reason for the U.S. to believe that they would serve the people of Western Sahara well. I urge those U.S. politicians who question the Israel-Morocco agreement to take a hard look at the people making such claims.
Nancy Huff is president and founder of Teach the Children International, a Tulsa-based nonprofit organization that reaches out to children at risk in the United States and abroad and works with refugee communities around the world.
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