El país más confuso que he visitado | Sahara Occidental: ¿a quién pertenece? 🇪🇭

To the north of the African continent, in the middle of the Sahara desert, there is a territory that for many is a mystery. It is not known if it is a colony, an annexed territory or a country waiting for its independence. Why do many warn me that if I say the name of this territory out loud on the street, the police could arrest me? What makes this topic so controversial? What language do people speak? What do they base their economy on? How do they live day to day? In this video we will try to delve into the mystical and controversial Western Sahara. We are in the Western Sahara, a territory with a context as complex as controversial, which surprises me that it is not heard more often about it in the news. Known as the last colony of Africa, these lands have been at odds for more than 4 decades. And depending on who tells you the story, it could belong to Morocco, Spain, or be a territory that continues to wait for its independence. To be able to document we are going to go very carefully, we will try to be very discreet. Well, it is well known that the authority here does not tolerate cameras very well, and they do not hesitate to take strong measures against them. Let's give it! Let's start by giving a very short context to understand the importance and current situation without making this very tedious. Let's move to the middle of the 20th century, when a great feeling of independence throughout the African continent begins to spread. The European kingdoms grant their independence to today's African countries, and the Western Sahara is still to be resolved, which at that time was a province of Spain, who had been exploiting its resources for decades. By 1975, the Spanish authority is ready to give independence. But it is then that Morocco intervenes, saying that these lands belong to them for historical reasons. The Moroccan king of that time mobilizes hundreds of thousands of people to exert political and media pressure, causing Spain to withdraw, practically leaving the Sahrawis to their fate. It is then that the Sahrawi-Democratic Arab Republic movement emerges, headed by the well-known Forte Polisario. And a very violent armed conflict begins that would last almost two decades. At the beginning of the 1990s, the UN intervenes, making a call for peace, stopping the massive number of deaths, but really not solving the conflict. And since then, the situation has been pending, more than 30 years have passed and this whole situation has not been seen. Morocco has continued to build kilometers and kilometers of walls to delimit the lands that they say belong to them. And in fact, very recently, in the year 2022, the Spanish authority declared that practically these lands were no longer theirs. That the solution proposed by Morocco is the most logical. Of course, trying not to get involved in a war and thus prevent more blood from being spilled. But as time goes by, this gets more and more complicated. Today many European nations pressure the Spanish authorities. Well, as we find ourselves in a current reality in which we are going through two great extremely media wars. Many resources are becoming more and more difficult and more expensive to obtain. And as gas, phosphate and oil abound here, the European Union wants to build ducts that allow them to exploit and transport directly to the European continent. It should be noted that the Western Sahara is a country in quotation marks that is recognized by more than 80 nations around the world. But that politically they are governed in a very evident way by the Moroccan authority. I think this sums it up very well, of course there is a lot of information that you can go to investigate elsewhere. And I also want to make it very clear that there is no absolute truth here. Everything is going to depend entirely on where you are reading from, who is telling you their version of the story. The largest city in the Sahara region is El Ayun with a population of about 300,000, perhaps 400,000 people. In fact, from this point on, the thing starts to get super interesting. When one compares the map that shows, for example, my phone that I come from Mexico. And the map that shows the phone of a local here. While my map is going to tell us that geographically we are standing in the Western Sahara and the territory will be delimited with a dotted line, which means that it is disputed land. The phone of a local will tell you that all this is Morocco, and that small division will simply separate North Morocco from South Morocco. And walking down the streets, it is more than evident that politically you are indeed in Morocco. Flags everywhere, 99% of the signs on the streets will be in Arabic, French and Amazigh, which are 3 of Morocco's official languages. You will see very, very few signs in Spanish, although in theory, according to the UN interpretation, this is a province in quotation marks Spanish. And it has happened to us that while we record and we are talking, people come to interrupt us to give us different versions. If you want to know something, go read the books that have existed for thousands of years, you will see the story. But then you say here it is not Morocco. Here Morocco. Here Morocco, yes, yes, yes. I was born here since 78. Polisario front or what is here? Sahara libre So yes, some people speak Spanish and I realize that we have to be very discreet with this. If it is a topic that in the streets could release one or the other punch. The political strategy of periodically bringing people from the north in Morocco here, dates from the 1970s when the famous Green March happened. In the year 1975, when the Spanish authorities wanted to sign a referendum that would give independence to the Sahrawis. But Morocco sent 25,000 soldiers, accompanied by more than 300,000 civilians, walking here looking to occupy the territory. And that in effect there was a very strong Moroccan presence. How about? Does it deserve it? Of course. No map, no ideology will always be entirely right. It will all depend on who tells you the story. What a curious, very interesting and to a certain extent disturbing fact. If we talk about economy, the currency used throughout the region is the Moroccan dirham. Well, it is not as if there is really a currency of the Western Sahara, and you do not see euros from Spain, more than perhaps in tourist sites. In terms of infrastructure, everything that are the streets, schools, hospitals, is work of the attribution of Moroccans. Which makes us think a lot about what would happen, what would be the next steps if one day the Western Sahara obtains its so desired independence. It reminds me a lot of the case that we already documented for the South Sudan Channel, a country that obtained its independence just a few years ago. And basically they had to start from scratch, there are no schools, there are no concrete streets, there is an obvious lack of infrastructure. Because yes, the Western Sahara of course has many resources, a lot of oil, a lot of gas, a lot of fishing. But there is not really an investment to exploit it and commercialize it. Hey, let's see if I want to clarify something, I don't want you to stay with the image that this is a tense territory, not dangerous. For all its diplomatic situation, no, no, the other way around, the truth is a very friendly territory, people are very nice on the street, they talk to you, they greet you. Photos, yes or no, the photos are like, the recordings are complicated. They have made us delete more than one video, but in general it feels very good. And despite the fact that many settlers identify themselves as Moroccans, many others identify themselves as Sahrawis of the West. They live together, they are neighbors, they are friends, they are brothers. So I don't think they keep the idea that it is a dangerous territory, no, no, no, no. Mere politics, but the territory is, but divine, beautiful. Talking about the population of the Western Sahara is very complicated, as it is estimated that more than 60% of the people who identify themselves as Sahrawis of the West. They reside as refugees outside the physical territory in Algeria. Its official language is Hassania or Hassania, which from what they explain to me could be interpreted as a dialect of Arabic. And not only people from the Western Sahara speak it, it is also spoken in parts of Mauritania, Algeria and Mali. In terms of religion, more than 95% identify themselves as Muslims. They honestly have a lot in common with their neighboring countries. In the words of many locals I have met, they tell me we are all brothers. We are very similar, we have very similar beliefs, we speak very similar. As well as the feeling of brotherhood that we have in Latin America, that Colombians, Venezuelans, Peruvians, Mexicans, we all feel very close. Something similar happens here. The problems of politicians are not the problems of people. The only city that is really touristic to the date I record in the region is Dakhla. Which has a population of perhaps about 200,000 people, although a recent census is missing. This city is also very controversial and difficult to understand, starting with its name. Depending on who tells you, it can be Dakhla, its Arabic name, or Villas Cisneros, the name that the Spaniards gave it many years ago. Currently, the authorities of Morocco are investing a lot of money here. They want to turn it into a site with a tourist boom. They are building many new hotels, drawing the attention of tourists from all over the world, especially from Europe. The controversy here is that every time the opening of a new establishment is announced, protesters outside the territory raise their voices saying, hey remember that this is not Morocco, it is the Western Sahara. But let's see, being very honest, if the authority is investing so many, but really so many millions. It means that they are not willing to let go of the reins of these lands. Damn, the more I learn, this becomes much more complicated. It hurts my head just to think of a possible solution. We camp in the middle of the Sahara desert, wow, what an experience. And what an authentic taste of Sahrawi culture. We are looking for a Sahrawi nomadic group in the middle of the desert. Well, it is well commented that an important percentage of the population of the Western Sahara is scattered in the desert without much desire to be located. Let's see if we can find someone to talk to, to illustrate us. Tell us from your point of view, what life is like in the middle of the desert. We find another nomadic camp, but this one looks like they have been settled for a longer time. More or less as we were able to communicate, because many people in the region speak French, a little French. They explained to us that here in this camp these people have been here for 2 years. So see how their houses were settled here, made with wooden logs. Over here they have their water well, which also explains why they are settled here, because there is water under the ground. And really here only 3 families live, that is, there are 3 houses that are settled there, wow. And see around here they have like their garbage deposit, ok. In the same way they have to protect themselves from the wind, they have their camel here, our carnal. And check how they make pots with recycled tires, this is very interesting. What we are seeing is a tire, it is a tire. And basically they reuse them to make pots, to make containers. Wow, I'm stunned by this lifestyle, look what it is, fascinating but very hard, the heat is heavy. And these people who live in the middle of the desert do attract attention. How do they get food, how do they subsist in the long run? Well, it turns out that in most cases wealthy people come from cities that have many camels. And they know that for the camel to be raised well, it is better that it is in the middle of the desert. So they tell them like this, hey, can I leave my camels here, do you take care of them? And they say yes, yes, yes, then in exchange for that they periodically come every week, every 2 weeks. To leave them tomato cheese, rice cheese, clean water to drink, etc., etc. And that is what is given to them in return. My nomadic carnals are sharing with me here some of the medicinal plants that they use. This tree is called Attila, whose leaves are used to cure the belly in case you have diarrhea out there. You don't want me to catch you the run that I reach you in the middle of the Sahara desert. And the sticks are used to clean your teeth. Basically this is how it works, is that you have to chew, chew, chew. Then with your saliva and your teeth you are going to water it. Once it is like this open, you are going to proceed to pass it through all the divisions of the teeth. Even in the Sahara desert you can have hygiene. We find a car workshop in the middle of the desert, wow! I did not expect this, but look that it is very useful for all those who are mobilizing. They have a problem with the car, they come here, they buy old car parts, junk. Yes, here they startle them like old cars. We came because we have a problem with the tire of the vehicle. I hope it will be fixed soon, because look that in many kilometers I do not think we will see another. But how about civilization samples? So in the middle of the desert, here a carnal said I'm going to set up a car workshop. For all those who are here as nomads, transporting themselves. Man of business my carnal, do not miss it. And it is very striking how many camels they have. It will be that if they cannot fix your car, they tell you. Look brother, I do not know how to fix your car. Take a camel please, one for each one. And let's go so that they continue their journey to the next point. Wow, how crazy we find an oasis. Nomadic merchants bring their camels to drink water, to hydrate. Here they relax with a little shade, they cook with firewood. And yes, we were already talking to some, sharing the tea. They told us that we do not record them, but that we can record their stew. Camel meat is also eaten very daily. Check this out, they bring this water method. Direct from the well here, they basically put a plastic bottle. So this is their tap and you can even control the pressure and everything. So look, I open it like this a little bit, there it is, there it comes out a little bit. No, there I can wash my hand and such. And if I need a lot of pressure like that, I just take off the lid and there goes the water. Then I close it again and that's it, there they are preserved. No man, human ingenuity in its maximum splendor. And look how interesting, because within the nomadic group, some are identified as Moroccan. Others are identified as Sahrawis of the West. I do not know, one thinks that they are going to come to this territory and they are going to encounter a huge conflict and such. And the truth is that people take things in peace, it is a resilient society. That is the word, it is an extremely resilient society. And if you are wondering what they do with the garbage, well here is the answer, it burns. It is what it is, they stop point by point, at one point they cook, throw their cans, their garbage and proceed to burn it. The technique that these guys have to prepare the tea draws a lot of attention. They empty the glasses over and over again to make it super foamy. At first I thought this was to make it taste better. But it turns out that the foam serves as a filter so that so much sand does not enter the drink. It makes a lot of sense because if here with the winds of the Oloborgo desert, I do this in my hair, dirt comes out. So in this way, in addition to being tastier, you make sure you are ingesting more drink, more tea than dirt. Well there you have it, a bit of what is the Western Sahara, South Morocco or the Spanish province of the Sahara, depending on who tells you. A conflict that of course is not even close to being resolved. And an adventure that has shown us once again that the problems of politicians are not necessarily the problems of the people. And that has made me reflect like never before on the importance of freedom of expression. And about how sad it is that so many people in the world do not have it. Thank you very much for joining me. See you as always, you already know in a few days with a new video. Goodbye.