Conference in Naples Highlights Colonial Legacy and Ongoing Injustice in Western Sahara
Naples (Italy) – The “TIRIS ODV” Association hosted a conference on Tuesday at the Caratteri Hall of the Foqus Foundation in Naples, spotlighting the ongoing struggle of the Sahrawi people under the title: “The Sahrawi People and Colonialisms.”
The event featured a powerful address by historian Francesco Correale, a senior researcher at CNRS Tours (France) and a leading expert on North African colonial history. Correale traced the deep-rooted colonial structures still affecting the region, underscoring how the legacy of occupation continues to obstruct the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and fuels modern political injustice.
A key highlight of the conference was the speech by Fátima Mahfud, the Polisario Front’s Representative in Italy, who delivered a moving testimony on the Sahrawi people’s resistance against Moroccan occupation. She denounced the failure of the international community to fulfill the long-promised referendum on self-determination, delayed since Spain’s withdrawal from Western Sahara in 1975.
The conference concluded with a dynamic debate and networking session, encouraging further engagement among activists, scholars, and supporters of the Sahrawi cause.
