33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

Produced by Euro-CIDES -FR- CAPTIVE/ JUST/2015/RDAP/AG/VICT/9243 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Demonym Sahrawi - WesternSaharan The Arabic word Ṣ a ḥrāwī صحراوي literally means "Inhabitant of the Desert". The word Sahrawi is derived from the Arabic word Ṣ a ḥrā' ( صحراء ) meaning desert. The men are called a "Sahrawi" while the women are called a "Sahrawiya". Geography Western Sahara is an area of northwestern Africa, bordered by theMoroccan province of Tarfaya in the north, Algeria in the northeast, Mauritania in the east and south, while west coast overlooks the Atlantic. The Polisario Front is the Western Sahara's national liberation movement, fighting for the independence of the Western Sahara since 1973 — originally against Spanish rule; after 1975, against Mauritania and Morocco; since 1979, against Morocco only. The organization is based in Algeria, where it is responsible for the Tindouf refugee camps. The organization has maintained a cease-fire with Morocco since 1991 but continues to strive for the territory's independence as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) through peaceful negotiations.