backSara Cheikh
2023
Autobiography
Handshake Books
English / Arabic



Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Insha Allah








Author context



Notes

“The plight of Western Sahara and the military occupation by the Moroccan monarchy cannot be dissociated from the history of western colonialism and from the fact that Saharawis continue to pay the price for this legacy. During the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885, Spain was recognised as the colonial power ruling over present-day Western Sahara, and by 1936, Generalissimo Franco instituted full colonial rule and split the region into two territories, Rio de Oro and Saguia el Hamra. When high-quality phosphate was discovered in the late 1930s, the Spanish built the city of Laayoune near the Atlantic and linked the Bou Craa mine to the port with a conveyor belt around a hundred kilometres long.” (Hamouchene)

https://handshake.fun/mananainshaallah




INDEX


Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Bedouins
Berlin Conference

Africa
Algeria
Maghreb
Smara Refugee Camp

Colonialism
Berlin Conference 


REFS


Reflections on Western Sahara's struggle for self-determination

French North Africa: The Maghrib Between Two World Wars

Tony Hodges - Western Sahara: The Roots of a Desert War (see 1973)


1884 — Berlin Conference 

1956 — Moroccan independence from France

1958 — Following unrest and pressure after the Ifni War, Spain reorganized the northern and southern territories they controlled into a single administrative unit called “Spanish Sahara.”  They also reclassified the territory as an overseas province, similar (in theory) to mainland Spanish provinces. The goal was to argue that the territory was not a colony, but an integral part of Spain This was partly in response to growing decolonization pressure at the United Nations. 

1973 — Sahara liberation movement founded (Polisario Front)

1975 — UN ruling against Moroccan sovereignty in Western Sahara 

1976 — Spanish withdrawl from Western Sahara 
SITES, WORKS


Laayoune

Western Sahara Pavilion , 2016 Venice Biennale