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More subtle forms of human rights abuses, such as the lack of freedom of expression, association, movement and systematic discrimination in the workplace, are a constant feature of the Saharawi experience under occupation. These ongoing restrictions are coupled with the more sinister Moroccanization
policy, which deprives Saharawis from learning their own history and language.

When the UN High Commission for Human Rights finally visited Western Sahara for the first time, in 2006, it expressed its alarming findings in a subsequent report:

Many of these human rights abuses are eloquently expressed in the resistance poetry of the Generation of Saharawi Friendship, largely based in Spain. Writing in Spanish, this group of Saharawi poets have been inspired by figures such as Neruda and Lorca, and they have published numerous books as individuals and anthologies. Aauin,
Shouting What We Feel
, was published in 2006 to express their outrage at the 2005 Moroccan repressions.

by
Danielle Smith
, founding director of
Sandblast
, a London-based arts charity promoting Saharawi rights.

 

www.sandblast-arts.org

Sandblast works to empower the Saharawis to tell their own story, promote their own culture and earn a living through the arts. Through its Saharawi Artist Fund (SAF), Sandblast addresses
the lack of opportunities for Saharawis to develop artistically and helps them showcase their talents and gain recognition for their culture and aspirations. Through SAF we:

• run workshops
  in the refugee camps to teach art and enhance income generation.
  
• help outstanding talent
  access residencies, master classes and international platforms.
  
• provide
  small bursaries for aspiring artists to pursue their creative ideas.
  
• promote
  and showcase Saharawi arts.
  

Founding director, Danielle Smith has been involved with the Saharawi refugee community for over twenty years. She taught English in the camps for extended periods in 1993/94 and made two documentaries, including the award-winning
Beat of Distant Hearts
, on the role of the arts in the Saharawi independence struggle. She was associate producer for
Western Sahara
:
A Forgotten War
, broadcast by BBC2 for their
Correspondent
series in 1998. Danielle Smith has spoken widely on the Western Sahara at universities, for the media, the British Parliament and the United Nations.