Here in the Western Sahara semi-autonomous, free administered territory UN controlled Moroccan owned rebel occupied landmine danger zone surf resort area of the globe, it is really difficult to really tell what is going on. No one really claims this as a country, many people occupy it, laws contradict themselves and roads are actually pretty good here, which would lead you to believe that it is well run. The problem is that it is hard for us to really tell who is running this show.
All of the 8 checkpoints we went through on our way from Boudjour to Dahkla, a span of only 500kms, were managed by soldiers wearing Moroccan uniforms. These men were all very nice and quite friendly, but regularly over the 4-5 hours of time we spent during that day stopped at checkpoints, I wondered how “independent” these checkpoints are. Sometimes we would simply be waived through, other times stopped for as long as 45 minutes. We tried everything from being short with the men to making friends, but overall nothing seemed to really expedite the stops. Since nothing is computerized and many of the checkpoints don’t even have power it is hard to see how this makes anything more secure. We were told recently that they have the checkpoints to make sure that you arrive at the next one. It you do not arrive at the next one, they will search for you as many people have had problematic run-ins with the land mines here. The problem is that I cannot see any search party being sent out, considering that a lot of people pull off to the side of the road to camp here, just like we did the first day. Obviously you would be late arriving to the next checkpoint if you camped for two or three days between them.
Everything is handwritten, nothing is organized, and if these checkpoints are for security, it is hard to see why they waive so many other people by while spending so much time with us. After talking to some of the locals here in Dahkla, we think we have a solution, if we have photocopies of our passports they will take those and send us on our way. I will keep my fingers crossed that this works. The other thing we learned is that being too friendly with the guards will only make your stay longer. These guys are working 100s of kms away from anything in the middle of nowhere, so a little entertainment from the TWBR crew is just what they need to break up their day.
So at the end of the day, 3 Polaroids, 2 t-shirts, a Toyota gorilla, and a pack of cigarettes later we made it through one checkpoint in around an hour instead of a half an hour. We learned our lesson, even if you speak French, you don’t at the checkpoints. Even if you have t-shirts and jokes to tell, you don’t at checkpoints. It was a fun experience and we all had a good time, but from here on out, we are sorry to say, “Border guards, we cannot be friends with all of you.”
Oh and one more thing, thanks to the guard at the second to last stop at 10pm for giving us some fried fish as a gift at checkpoint #7. We liked checkpoint 7:).
For this picture, the extra hour was well worth it. Please note some sort of weapon tucked behind the picture of the king.
8 times in one day…maybe a little excessive?
30 more minutes of my life down the drain, checkpoint #6.
4 Comments
Just for your information Western Sahara is not a “semi-autonomous, free administered territory”. Nor is it “UN controlled” or “Moroccan owned”.
Western Sahara is a non-self governing territory that has been occupied/controlled/colonized by Morocco since the end of the 1970’s. Before that it was colonized by Spain for almost 100 years, although Spain did not reach full control over the territory until 1934 when Spain, together with French forces, destroyed the city of Smara.
Of course Morocco claims that Western Sahara is Moroccan, but the Moroccan claims were rejected by the International Court of Justice already in 1975, and nothing has changed in that matter since.
Western Sahara is a territory that is on the UN list of colonized areas. Its population has therefore a right to self-determination in order to decide their future on their own. Without Moroccan, US, Spanish or French interference.
Hey guys – like the bog. On this one I might be able to offer some explanation.
Western Sahara used to be Spanish Sahara (a colonial “possession” of Spain). In 1975-1976 the Spanish left and the Moroccans moved in, although no-one except Morocco recognised Morocco as a legitimate Moroccan possession. The Polisario Front, an independence movement that had been fighting the Spanish, then took to fighting the Moroccans and the Mauritanians (who had invaded along with Morocco in an attempt to carve up the territory of Western Sahara). Polisario saw off the Mauritanians, but Morocco was a more difficult enemy. IN 1991 the UN brokered a ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario with the promise of a referendum on “self-determination, This referendum never happened, as Morocco and the Polisario couldn’t agree on who should be eligible to vote. The ceasefire left Western Sahara partitioned between a Moroccan-occupied zone (in which you’ve been travelling and which makes up most – around two thirds – of the territory) and a Polisario-controlled zone to the east and south of the Moroccan-held areas. Today there are an estimated 200,000 Moroccan settlers and 160,000 Moroccan troops in the country, and some 90,000 indigenous Sahrawi people, who often get treated badly by the Moroccan authorities. There are a further 160,000 Sahrawi living in exile in camps in the Algerian desert, who can move into the Polisario controlled zone (where there are very few resources and which can’t support may people, especially in dry years).
Western Sahara is technically a “disputed, non-self governing territory” whose status is yet to be determined. Talks between Morocco and the Polisario are ongoing, but have got nowhere. Morocco is offering what it calls “autonomy”, which would secure Moroccan “sovereignty” over Western Sahara in exchange for a limited amount of “self governance”. Morocco (erroneously) refers to the Polisario-controlled zone as a “buffer zone” or “demilitarized zone” and what would happen to this region (which is under the [pretty firm control of the Polisario) is never discussed. Morocco will not entertain the notion of a referendum on full independence, and the Polisario so far have refused to endorse a referendum that doesn’t include the option of independence. Ergo stalemate.It looks as if Western Sahara will continue to be a partitioned, disputed territory for the foreseeable future, divided into a Moroccan-controlled and a Polisario-controlled zone.
More on my blog (Sand and Dust), from the perspective of a foreigner (me, as a Brit) working on and off in the Polisario-controlled areas.
Happy wanderings guys.
The pitfalls of posting without editing…
Ist sentence of paragraph two should have read “Western Sahara used to be Spanish Sahara (a colonial “possession” of Spain). In 1975-1976 the Spanish left and the Moroccans moved in, although no-one except Morocco recognised WESTERN SAHARA [not Morocco] as a legitimate Moroccan possession.”
Oops.
semantics aside… that picture may be my favorite yet… solely for the shrewdly veiled weaponry… happy resurrection day!