A great read-a great achievement by Pazzanita

Want to know "everything" about Western Sahara? If your answer is "yes", check out
Historical Dictionary of Western Sahara by Anthony G. Pazzanita. For review, how to get it etc., click the academic page above.

TRAVEL - RECOMMENDED!

DESERT DIVERS (paperback)
Sven Lindqvist (Author)
Granta 2002

"The Swedish writer is furious, learned, curious, sad, witty..."


For more information, editorial review, description and my
comment, see the travel page above.

This book is a great Christmas gift!

POEM ON WESTERN SAHARA IN KLASSEKAMPEN

One of my Western Sahara poems ("Norsk næringsliv og Vest-Sahara - en simulert chat") is published by the Norwegian newspaper Klassekampen this week-end. The links are Norwegian, but you can find information in English on the companies below (and their involvement in Western Sahara) through Google. OK, here's my translation:

NORWEGIAN BUSINESS & WESTERN SAHARA (A SIMULATED CHAT)

hi Trond!

Hi Kristian!

y'know what?

No

the norwegian companies gearbulk,
sjøvik and green reefers break the "business know-how"
published by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry

The business know-how published by the Foreign Ministry?

yup! check out these sites:

http://www.bt.no/nyheter/lokalt/Protesterer-mot-Jebsen-rederi-583180.html

http://www.smp.no/incoming/article198423.ece

http://vest-sahara.no/index.php?parse_news=single&cat=1&art=1540

But generally they're OK, right?

yeah generally

MOROCCAN SECURITY FORCES ATTACKED SAHARAWI CAMP

Two days ago the saharawi protest camp outside El Aaíun, was attacked and destroyed by moroccan security forces. According to various news agencies, at least one saharawi was killed. (The total number is still not known.) Many are injured. For more information, see "google-news" below or www.vest-sahara.no (which has videos showing the camp before, during and after the attack of the moroccan forces. Texts in Norwegian, English, Spanish and French. See link at this page).

The camp was a good example of a non-violent action. The violence began when the forces started tearing it down. The big word today is WHY? For more on saharawi non-violent activism, check out this book:  

It is actually out of print, but you can order photocopies at amazon.com. Two of the activists mentioned below (Dahane and Tamek) are currently imprisoned in Morocco. They have been waiting for over one year for their trials to begin. Book description from amazon.com: "Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Sahrawi Democracy Activists, Sahrawi Human Rights Activists, Aminatou Haidar, Ali Salem Tamek, Brahim Dahane, Mohammed Daddach, Muhammad Bassiri, Mohamed Elmoutaoikil. Excerpt: Aminatou Haidar (born July 24, 1966), sometimes known as Aminatu or Aminetu, is a Sahrawi human rights-defender and political activist. She is a leading activist for the independence of Western Sahara. She is sometimes called the "Saharawi Gandhi" for her nonviolent protests, including hunger strikes, in the support of the independence of Western Sahara.. She is the president of the Collective Of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA). Aminatou was born in 1966 in Akka, Morocco, her grandmother's town, although she lived her childhood in her parents town, Tan-Tan (former Western Sahara). She lives in El Aaiún in Western Sahara, with two children (Muhammad and Hayat), is divorced, and holds a baccalaureate in modern literature. She recognizes herself as a supporter of Polisario. In November 21, 1987, she passed to be one of the hundreds of Sahrawis disappeared in Moroccan prisons. After years of tortures."

POEMS FROM A SAHARAWI STUDENT

Agaila Abba Hemeida is a saharawi student living in the refugee camps. On her blog you'll find (amongst other interesting stuff) her poems - in English and Spanish, but also one in Arabic. Check it out:
http://freeewesternsahara.blogspot.com/search/label/Poem

Online literature from Western Sahara

Check out prose, poetry, essays and articles written by saharawis et al. on this beautiful website: http://www.ariadna-rc.com/numero25/sahara/sahara.htm It's all in Spanish-anyone want to translate into English?