Resistance of the Sahrawi people

Different forms of non-violent resistance have helped to raise awareness of the Sahrawi conflict and to gain backing from European public opinion, making use of unusual spaces of visibility. France is a country that has welcomed large numbers of Sahrawi’s who, like the runner Salah Amaidan, are driven by fear of the reprisals they suffer for their different forms of resistance to seek asylum.

France has a vast culture of defending human rights. French citizens in general support and are sensitive to the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination. However, the different French governments have been all too involved in the violations suffered by this people. Unfortunately, after 35 years of conflict, France persists in using its right of veto in the Security Council, thereby permitting Morocco to continue dominating and repressing the Sahrawi people in its Western Sahara territory, strategically occupied since 1975.

This represents an enormous contradiction and generates a “love-hate” relationship with France in the Sahrawi people.

Film: The Runner