El Aaiún (Layounne), Occupied Western Sahara – On Sunday, August 24, Moroccan agents expelled two activists with Nonviolence International – Elaf Hasan and Bianca Peracchi – who had traveled to Western Sahara to experience Saharawi culture and to meet those who currently live under Moroccan occupation.
Bianca Peracchi reported, “I was shocked by the mis-treatment we experienced in El Aaiún by the Moroccan agents. This pales in comparison to the repression and abuses that the Sahrawi people shared with me as they live under illegal occupation.”
According to the International Court of Justice and most countries, Morocco’s occupation and annexation of the Western Sahara is illegal and not recognized.
Prior to their expulsion, the pair had met in Villa Cisneros (Dakhla), Western Sahara, with Saharawis and toured their communities. They witnessed the disparity between the downtown dominated by Moroccan tourist businesses and poor Saharawi communities that have been displaced to its outskirts. They posed for a photo with the human rights defenders and former political prisoners with the Western Sahara flag which was widely circulated after their deportation.
After a bus trip through 7 military checkpoints to El Aaiún, the capital of Western Sahara, they were seized by unknown agents of the Moroccan government who deported and accompanied them to Morocco and all the way to the US and Spain.
Elaf Hasan said “I enjoyed the warmth of the people, the stunning beaches and dunes and the taste of authentic Saharawi tea. It is important that people around the world become aware of the plight of the Saharawi people.”
Nonviolence International views the deportations as part of a longstanding pattern of silencing international observers and restricting independent reporting from Western Sahara.
“This expulsion demonstrates Morocco’s fear of transparency,” said NVI founder, Dr. Mubarak Awad, “Instead of allowing peaceful visitors to engage with Saharawi communities, the occupation forces illegally respond with falsehoods and deportations. Just as Israel’s occupation of Palestine must end, so must Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara end.”
