“The Sahrawi People Dreams Through Film” |

Sahrawi women during the FiSahara Film Festival

Written by Zitouni Mohamed,

Mr Salah Bouflah, an independent director, from Boumerdès, 50 kilometers east of Algiers (Algeria) recently made the three thousand kilometer journey to the city of Dakhla in Western Sahara. He intends to produce a documentary film about the Sahraouian culture and heritage and the role of the seventh art (film) in transmitting messages about the Western Sahara issue. The term seventh art was originally coined by Ricciotto Canudo in 1912.

A 26-minute documentary film, entitled “The dreams of the Sahrawi people through cinema” was produced as a result of Mr. Bouflah’s journey. The documentary reflects the struggle for Sahrawi independence from Moroccan rule. During his stay, the director met with officials of the Western Sahara with whom he had discussions on the importance of cinema in the struggle for independence and peace in Western Sahara. Khadija Hamdi, the Saharawi Minister of Culture said that “the cinema is always a way to convey a message of struggle for the Sahrawi people to recover its independence.” Indeed, in the past several film festivals have been organized in Western Sahara, “as a means for passing a message on the media and political struggle for independence following the example of FiSahara, an international film festival held annually”. This event is considered a festival of resistance and and a defense for human rights, said the Cultural Minister of the Sahrawi. Also, the Minister, called on young Sahrawis to take part in cultural activities and film organized by countries like Algeria and Venezuela, in order to convey to the rest of the Sahrawi people’s struggle for independence and peace. By the same, Khadija Hamdi held that the film plays an important role in transmitting messages of peace and humanism throughout the world and she estimated that Saharawi issue would become widely known through cutscenes of festivities including that of Dakhla and the FiSahara film festival.

A new generation hopes and dreams

The situation in Western Sahara has been dire since Morocco claimed sovereignty over the region and began to implement programs to solidify its control. Organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UN High Commissioner for Human rights have documented numerous human rights violations on the part of Morocco agains the Sahwari people.

One example is the construction of the “Moroccan Wall”, which is a 2,700 kilometer barrier separating areas controlled by Morocco and the Polisario Front. The Polisario Front is the Sahrawi rebel group which speaks for the Sahrawi people. Moreover, it is clear that the conflict between the Polisario Front and the Sharifian kingdom could escalate and put the Maghreb region in turmoil. This would be a great challenge in the construction of the Great Maghreb union.

Given the reports that Western Sahara is rich in oil reserves, and the United Nations Security Council document S-2002-161on the subject of oil exploitation in the region. One must at the same time question the motives of the Algerian regime in promoting Western Saharan independence. The Western Saharan government in exile is after all administered from Algeria. Relations between Morocco and Algeria have been strenuous and some could even say in turmoil since Algeria declared itself in favor of the independence of the territories of Western Sahara and the right to self-determination of its people.

Whatever the motives and power politics of Morocco and Algeria, it is clear that this seventh art is a great medium for raising awareness to the issues in the region and solidification of Sahrawi identity.