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Tents in the Desert by Salama from Western Sahara
How could I not chose this painting to represent Western Sahara? The artist is Salama, a 8 year old child in the Saharawi refugee camp, in Algeria. The image is hosted by website PapaInk: "PapaInk, the Children's Art Archive, is a 501 c# non-profit dedicated to the art of youth. Our activities encompass the exhibition of works by young artists, the archiving of historically significant children's art collections and the building of communities that support children's creative endeavors. Through open archival access, PapaInk seeks to grow the audience for children's art and reinject the creative spirit of young people into human experience."
Western Sahara is a country that isn't because it is integrated in Morocco, who invaded Western Sahara back in 1976, the last African colony. The independence effort is ongoing (check the website WSO, great news) and despite UN efforts the end doesn't seem to be near. Frente Polisario, the Western Saharan nationalists that seek independence are after all considered terrorists, just as any separatist movement these days. To make matters worse, they are Arabs, so they must be dangerous...
When the country was occupied, many of its inhabitants fled to neighboring countries such as Algeria were nearly 200,000 refugees are living now:
"The International Court of Justice in The Hague issued a ruling in 1975 that neither Morocco nor Mauritania has any claim to the territory of Western Sahara. Mauritania could not militarily, politically or economically sustain fighting against the POLISARIO troops and signed a peace agreement in 1979. They acknowledged the sovereignty of the Western Saharan nation in exile, the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) which was founded in 1976. On the other hand, Morocco refuses to this day to relinquish any claims to Western Sahara.
But the 200,000 Saharawis in the camps have proven they will not give up either. They have chosen a life in exile, hundreds of miles from home, rather than live under the rule of a king whose reign has sought to erase their existence. " (from WSO)
I'm not sure how long ago young Samara painted her Tents, but it could be a long time before she is allowed to return to her country of origin.
Some related news:
North Africa's forgotten war
Forgotten People: The Sahawaris
The Sahawaris
Referendum