Sahrawi Refugee Camps - Conditions of Life

Conditions of Life

The Tindouf area is located on the hammada, a vast desert plain of the Sahara Desert. Summer temperatures in this part of the hammada, historically known as "The Devil's Garden", are often above 50°C and frequent sand storms disrupt normal life. There is little or no vegetation, and firewood has to be gathered by car tens of kilometers away. Only a few of the camps have access to water, and the drinking sources are neither clean nor sufficient for the entire refugee population. Basic life cannot be sustained in this environment, and the camps are completely dependent on foreign aid.

Food, drinking water, building materials and clothing are brought in by car by international aid agencies. Basic food is brought in from the port of Oran to Rabouni by the World Food Programme (WFP) in collaboration with Algeria Red Crescent (ARC) and the Algerian government, while food distribution from Rabouni is organized by Polisario in collaboration with Western Sahara Red Crescent (WSRC). With the rise of a basic market economy, some refugees have been able to acquire television sets, use cars, and several hundreds of satellite dishes have popped up in recent years.

The refugee population is plagued by the lack of vegetables, nutritious food and medicines. According to the United Nations and the World Food Program, 40% of the children suffer from lack of iron, and 10% of the children below five years of age suffer from acute lack of nutrition. 32% are suffering from chronic lack of nutrition. 47% of the women suffer from lack of iron.

Heavy flash rains and floods destroyed much of the camps in February 2006, prompting a crisis response from the UNHCR and the World Food Program (WFP), to replace destroyed housing with tents and provide food to cover for lost storages.

The WFP has repeatedly expressed its concern over a shortage of donations, and warned of dire health consequences if needs are not met. The UNHCR warned in early 2007 that demands were not being met in the Sahrawi camps, and that malnutrition was severe. Refugees International has noted that the situation is especially precarious in Dakhla, the most inaccessible of the camps.