La única solución en el Sáhara es la autonomía

The moving story of Maghlaha Dlimi, a native of Dakhla, is one of a group of children sent to Cuba by the Polisario Front years ago, without their parents' consent.  There, she studied to become a teacher so that she could later return to the Tindouf camps. In very precarious living conditions, she married and raised her family. The illness of one of his daughters forced him to escape through Mauritania to reach Spain and save the child. On his return to Dakhla, he had a hard time, but he finally managed to reunite his family. She now looks after the library of Spanish books donated years ago from the Canary Islands and is an active human rights defender within the Dakhla Commission.

What was your life like in the Tindouf camps?

My life in the Tindouf camps, like the life of any other woman, was based on not having freedom of movement, we could not have our passport, we did not have the right to express ourselves freely, there was a lack of hygiene and shortage of everything.

How did you manage to escape from the Tindouf camps and to Dakhla?

It is known that the Polisario has taken people to the camps by force, they have also tricked many people to take them there. In my case and that of many other children, we were taken to our parents by trickery. I managed to get out of there and return to Dakhla because one of my daughters was ill and I wanted to take her to Spain to be treated by Spanish doctors. When I went to ask for my passport in Oran, Algeria, I was refused because they give passports to whoever they want. So I had to go to Mauritania to get my passport and go with my daughter to Spain.

What did you do during your stay in Spain?

During my stay in Spain, I worked as a translator for the Sahrawi children who go on exchange to the summer camps in Spain. In 2004 I returned to Dakhla because Tindouf is neither my homeland nor that of my parents, and thank God we managed to reunite the whole family here in Dakhla. 

Do you hope that with the recognition of the United States, there will be a momentum that will bring a solution to this conflict? 

I think so, the recognition by the United States is a great advantage to put an end to the conflict and we Saharawis are the main beneficiaries. 

What kind of solution?                                                                                 

The only solution is autonomy, as it is the only one that can settle the conflict and make it clear. The people living in Tindouf must also be allowed to return to Morocco and stop indoctrinating through anti-Moroccan propaganda. We, the Saharawis who have been in the Tindouf camps, were deceived there, and we were mistreated there because human rights were not respected. That problem still exists today, so I ask that they let all these people return home, that they let them return to their land and that they can enjoy all the rights that the families here in Dakhla have, that they can work, that their children have the right to be able to study, train and travel. 

What would you ask of Spain?                                                                            

I have always been in communion with Spanish culture and I ask Spanish businessmen to come and invest, to be more present with us. Spain and Morocco have always been like brothers, in general terms the people of southern Morocco and the Spanish are neighbours and we have lived together for a century. Spain should have a greater presence in Dakhla, for the sake of neighbourliness, brotherhood and to bring the culture of these two peoples, who are historically brothers, closer together.