Spain’s ‘Holidays in Peace’ Program Supports Children from Western Sahara in Humanitarian Initiative
Madrid is hosting a new edition of the “Holidays in Peace” program, a renewed humanitarian initiative reflecting international solidarity with the Sahrawi people, with dozens of families opening their homes to children from refugee camps, in a project that is both humanitarian and a stark reminder of the hardships imposed by decades of Moroccan occupation.
According to a statement posted by the Association of Friends of the Sahrawi People on its official website, around fifty Spanish families are preparing to host Sahrawi children this summer for a two-month stay, emphasizing that the initiative aims to ease the suffering of children deprived of their most basic rights under occupation.
The “Holidays in Peace” program provides a vital humanitarian window, offering children access to healthcare, including medical check-ups and specialized services, amid a reality where access to health and basic services is restricted by the Moroccan regime’s systematic policies, marked by denial and the maintenance of the status quo.
Giving these children a safe holiday underscores the hardships faced by the Sahrawi people, the association stressed, noting that the persistence of this state of affairs is the direct consequence of an occupation that has hindered a just settlement and disregarded the resolutions of international legitimacy.
Madrid municipality’s support for the program, by funding the children’s travel, demonstrates a continued commitment to solidarity. Yet its impact is limited amid an ongoing crisis driven by the Moroccan occupation’s intransigence, which maintains policies that prolong displacement instead of allowing the Sahrawi people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination, according to the association.
