Saharawis' plight serious but ignored, says Refugees International

Tens of thousands of people from Western Sahara have been refugees for 28 years in one of the harshest desert environments on earth and face serious food and water shortages, Refugees International (RI) reported on Tuesday. Almost half their children are anemic, many are stunted and 13 percent are acutely malnourished, yet the plight of the 110,000 to 155,000 Sahrawi refugees has not attracted much international attention, RI said in a report titled: "Forgotten People: The Saharawis of Western Sahara". "As if food shortages were not enough, the lack of water and inadequate water distribution pose serious problems for the Saharawis," RI said. It said only two of the four camps for Sahrawi refugees, all located in Algeria, had access to their own water, while water had to be trucked to the other two camps. "The problems faced by the Saharawis reflect the difficulty of maintaining international commitment to meeting the basic needs of dependent refugee populations in the face of unresolved political conflicts," the NGO stated. Most of the refugees live in the four camps, which are near Tindouf, an oasis town in southern Algeria where they fled after Morocco occupied Western Sahara in 1975 when Spain, the colonial power, withdrew. The invasion led the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia-el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (Polisario Front) to take up arms to fight for the independence of the territory. In 1991, Polisario and Morocco signed a ceasefire agreement, paving the way for UN intervention but a planned referendum to determine the future of the territory has still not been held and armed skirmishes have continued. "The Saharawi population live in a forbidding desert environment that is difficult to access. Confined to this barren land, the children face a daily threat of hunger and malnutrition," RI said. "UN envoy James Baker has proposed a plan to give the Saharawis local autonomy but allow Morocco to maintain sovereignty over Western Sahara. The Saharawis have rejected this plan [saying] all parties had endorsed the referendum on independence and that they would not be safe under a Moroccan regime." Adding that the Saharawis were an example of a long-term refugee population created by a low-profile, unresolved situation, RI recommended that Baker be given more time to resolve the political stalemate. It appealed to donors not to forget the Saharawis but to "increase food aid to the camps and help improve water distribution, as these two basic needs are the most pressing for the Saharawi refugee population." RI hailed the decision by the UN Security Council in January to extend the mandate of its mission in Western Sahara, MINURSO, by two months. It urged NGOs to increase their involvement in the camps and spread awareness of the Saharawis’ plight. The report which includes background information on the Saharawis