The Spanish Asturian television shed light on the ongoing suffering of the Sahrawi people in light of the continued repression and violations by the Moroccan occupation, and the media blackout imposed on one of the oldest decolonization issues in the world.
A film screened on Spanish television entitled “No News from the Desert,” co-produced by the Sahrawi agency “Equipe Media,” documented field testimonies and photos highlighting the deep human suffering that Sahrawis are experiencing under the yoke of Moroccan military occupation, and stressing Spain’s “historical” responsibility towards its former colony, which is yet to complete its path towards self-determination and independence.
The film revealed three “walls” surrounding Western Sahara: “A wall of sand and mines separating families and prevents communication between the people of the same nation, a wall of occupation police and gendarmerie closing the desert road leading to the occupied territory, and the wall of silence imposed by the international media blackout on one of the oldest issues of decolonization in the world.” In conjunction with the screening of this film, another documentary entitled “Aminatou” was broadcasted, recounts the struggle of Sahrawi activist Aminatou Haidar, head of the Sahrawi Committee Against Moroccan Occupation, dubbed the “Gandhi of Western Sahara,” who was expelled by the Moroccan occupation authorities from occupied Laayoune to the Spanish Canary Islands in 2009.
The Sahrawi activist went then on a hunger strike for 32 consecutive days, in protest against the situation in Western Sahara, denouncing the injustice, neglect, and betrayal caused by Spain, the then “administrative power” of the occupied territory, which deprived the Sahrawi people of their right to self-determination and independence.
