The humanitarian conditions of the civilian population in the "Western Sahara" refugee Camps in Tindouf Algeria are so dire, that making an immediate international humanitarian intervention necessary, according to international humanitarian organizations and to Sahrawis who were lucky to escape the Polisario-Algerian run encampments.  In 1976 and on behest of the Algerian military, the Polisario separatist movement lured thousands of Sahrawi nomads from their native lands in  what was then called Spanish Sahara, Mauritania, Algeria and Mali  to Tindouf, a Town in western Algeria,  where it continues to confine most of them against their will.

The humanitarian conditions of the civilian population in the "Western Sahara" refugee Camps in Tindouf Algeria are so dire, that making an immediate international humanitarian intervention necessary, according to international humanitarian organizations and to Sahrawis who were lucky to escape the Polisario-Algerian run encampments.  In 1976 and on behest of the Algerian military, the Polisario separatist movement lured thousands of Sahrawi nomads from their native lands in  what was then called Spanish Sahara, Mauritania, Algeria and Mali  to Tindouf, a Town in western Algeria,  where it continues to confine most of them against their will. The Algerian military has been hosting these multinational refugees in encampments  run by the Polisario separatist movement that used them as a base of operation on its proxy war against Morocco over control of the former Spanish Sahara. The Tindouf refugees have been receiving humanitarian aid from international organizations while the Algerian government has been bank rolling the military and political adventures of Polisario. However, in light of the economic downturn inflecting every corner of the world, international help for the camps is dwindling leading many women and children to live in dire conditions facing malnutrition and in some cases starvation. Making matters worst, the continued refusal of the Algerian authorities to grant free access to the Camps on its territory is impeding some humanitarian aid from reaching civilians. In the aftermath of the 2006 floods which produced significant damaged in property around several refugee Camps, Algerian military refused several attempts by the World Food Program (WFP) to census the camps in order to assess the amount of aid needed. Fearing such census may be used by the Moroccan government to solidify its claims that most of the camp inhabitants are from neighboring countries, the Algerian government put its interest ahead of the needs of a vulnerable population. The Algerian policy of keeping the Tindouf off limits to "unfriendly" organizations is crating a humanitarian catastrophe that would only aggravate the suffering of women and children in the Camps.

Regardless of the future status of the ongoing Algerian Moroccan conflict over the Sahara, thousands, of mostly civilian population, need immediate humanitarian help. It is the Algerian government responsibility to ensure the safety and well being of the people of the Tindouf Camps.  Under international law, the Algerian government refusal to grant the camps inhabitants the right of movement mounts to refugee warehousing for political leverage.  International Refugee laws are clear: Since Tindouf is on Algerian claimed land, the thousands of refugees camped in the region should be allowed to choose to stay put in the Camps, move to other parts of Algeria or apply thru United Nations UNHCR  to move to other countries that would accept them.

The plight of the Tindouf refugees has been overlooked by the international community for more then 30 years. Partly due to the hard to get to location of the Camps and the tight access to the area imposed by the Algerian army, few independent human rights organization had FREE access to the Camps. The inattention of the Moroccan government to the dilemma of some of its citizens living under such conditions did not help in internationalizing the suffering of the refugees. These international and regional inactions have encouraged the Polisario leadership and its sponsors in the Algerian government to maintain the inhumane conditions in the camps so to be used to draw sympathy to the "Sahrawi cause" and raise money for the military wing of the Polisario.

The "Sahrawi" refugees have the right of movement as granted by International law. The Algerian government must honor this right. According to several escapees from the Camps, every week several people brave land mines and sniper fire from Polisario and the Algerian army to escape the inferno of Tindouf. The civilians that venture to leave the camps may not necessarily Polisario dissident or pro-Morocco activists, but rather simple people looking for better living conditions. In fact some of the refugee may want to stay in Algeria or return to Mauritania.

While the families of Polisario " western Sahara" separatist leaders are free to live and study anywhere in Algeria, the typical Sahrawi refugee family struggles every day to eat and sleep in humane conditions. The UNHCR and world community must force the Algerian government to provide better protection and assistance for these refugees including freedom for the refugees to leave the camps and work to support themselves if they so choose.

No matter where you stand on the question of the "Western Sahara", we as human being must stand up for the rights of the Tindouf refugees regardless of nationalities. The refugees' rights in question are not to assemble, protest or engage in political activities; but rather to live a decent and honorable life.  It is a tragedy that thousands of innocent civilians have been held hostage to a regional conflict that is entering its third decade. Please let the people of the Tindouf Camps go!

Author: Hassan Masiky is a native of Kenitra, Morocco. He graduated from the University of the District of Columbia with a degree in political science in 1991. Upon graduation, Hassan joined the Washington DC based non government organization the Parliamentary Human Rights Foundation (PHRF) where he worked as a consultant for USAID democracy projects in Mexico, Haiti, Republic of Georgia and the European Parliament. After leaving PHRF, Hassan dedicated his time advising Amnesty International USA on African and Middle Eastern affairs and representing the organization in press conferences. Mr. Masiky was a host on several television shows discussing human rights and democracy. He is currently working for a Federal Agency in the Washington area. 

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