33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

Produced by Euro-CIDES -FR- CAPTIVE/ JUST/2015/RDAP/AG/VICT/9243 Sewing tents is an important activity for the Sahrawi people and is seen as spiritual when considering the strong relationship between Sahrawis and the tent. It represents their traditions and their cultural heritage. It also refers to joy, celebration, and happiness. Sahrawi people who see a tent will feel good and be reminded of joyful and happy memories. It is not just a spatial unit reserved for living space but refers to all relationships linking the members of a given family. Thus, it represents all the concrete relations within the family. A tent is a symbol that links Sahrawi people and their traditions and customs regardless of the person’s age. It represents memories for the old people and continuity for the youth. A tent is also the traditional and spiritual link between Sahrawi people and the environment where they grow up. I do not think that there is a standing barrier between the love of the Sahrawi people and the tent. It remains as a symbol of Hassani culture. For all these reasons most Sahrawi women want to continue sewing tents to protect and secure the continuity of this unit in Sahrawi culture. Education The Polisario Front, which runs the camps, has attempted to modernize their society, placing a public emphasis on education, the eradication of tribalism and the emancipation of women. The role of women in camps was enhanced by their shouldering of the main responsibility for the camps and government bureaucracy during the war years, as virtually the entire male population was enrolled in the Polisario army. Education was also assisted by refugee life. While teaching materials are still scarce, the "urbanization" of the refugee camps and the abundance of free time for camp dwellers (after the situation normalized circa 1977) greatly increased the effectiveness of literacy classes. The Polisario Front claims presently that nearly 90% of refugees are literate, the number having been less than 10% in 1975, and several thousands have received university education in foreign countries as part of aid packages (mainly Algeria, Cuba, and Spain). A great deal of attention has been concentrated on the campaign for the elimination of illiteracy. The majority of the adults have the opportunity to learn to read and write; higher level courses result in a greater standard of education.