Waiting with patient rage: the anger of the Saharawi youth

Nineteen year old Ibrahim Hussein Leibeit shifts his weight in obvious discomfort. The stump of his leg, blown off below the knee by a landmine just three weeks ago, is yet to fully heal. “The pain is horrible” he tells me, “But here at the festival it is possible for me to think about other things for a while.” His presence at the festival is not incongruous. This is a political as well as a cultural event and Ibrahim spends much of his time here talking to journalists and politicians.

Ibrahim had been taking part in a march to the 1550 mile-long fortified barrier known as “the wall” built by the Moroccans to stop the Sahrawis from returning to their land. In a symbolic gesture, Ibrahim attempted to get close enough to the wall throw to a pebble to the other side. It was then that he trod on the mine.

He is rapidly becoming something of a hero to the Sahrawi cause; a symbol of their defiance. Privately, a representative of the Polisario Front (the Sahrawi government in exile) admits concern about the rising level of militancy among some young Sahrawis. After waiting with increasing rage while countless UN resolutions have been passed and ignored, many are losing faith in the diplomatic process.

The festival is intended to put political pressure the international community to take action against Morocco over the situation in Western Sahara. But with Morocco recently named by the US as a major non-Nato ally, and with many Western governments and companies involved in lucrative trade deals with the Moroccans, action has not been high on the international political agenda. Large reserves of phosphate, vast fishing grounds and potential offshore reserves of oil and gas, mean that the Western Sahara is not a possession that the Moroccans will relinquish lightly.

As for Ibrahim, he has no regrets about what happened at the wall. “I would gladly lose my other leg if it would mean my country could be free” he says with earnest.

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