Thesis 100dpi

“Sahrawi camps are
unique refugee settlements:
refugees govern
themselves instead of
being governed.’’
Instead of seeing the Sahrawi camps as pure spaces of exception, or as
the spatial state of emergency, we need to acknowledge the everyday
urban activities that play out in the camps, and how they are agents in
the production of space. Spaces of everyday life show how the camps
are used as fields of social, cultural, economic and political exchange,
thus giving them an urban quality. It recognizes the importance of
‘normality’ in abnormal conditions.
The camps started as a collection of tents erected on desert land,
organized in rows and clusters.
The camps received little help from the UN or the international community,
so the schools, medical facilities and hospitals were set up
and run by the refugees themselves.
As the camps grew, the tents were replaced or supplemented by clay
huts that multiplied over time. They evolved into the small residential
quarters that are now home to most of the Sahrawis. These nomadic
tribes initially settled in one camp – Rabouni. Then they established
two new ones – Smara and El Aaiun. Eventually they spread to five
camps in total, with Dakhla and Awserd established last. Meanwhile,
Rabouni was transformed into an administrative center.
The refugee camps have become a testing ground for the new vision
of community that the Saharwi independence movement created to
resist Spanish colonial rule. The community experiment was initially
to be implemented in the independent Western Sahara. The tribal
system, which had defined Sahrawi culture and identity for centuries,
was rejected in favor of a new national identity with a more modern
governance structure.
95 LIFE IN LIMBO
Algeria has ceded control of part of the Algerian Sahara, and has allowed
refugees to establish semi-autonomy there. Sahrawis who have
moved into that area now control access to their camps. They have
also developed an extensive network of governance and administration,
with the center located in Rabouni. All five camps together are
home to 160 000 people.
Tindouf
El Aaiun
Rabouni
Awserd
Smara
MOVING AND COMMUNICATION
In the “capital” of Rabouni one can see various government ministries,
the main national hospital, the national museum and the national
archive. The city also has a large central market located at the main
transport hub used by thousands of people who come to work at the
ministries. What emerges is unique for a refugee settlement: a seat of
government for a refugee nation where refugees govern themselves
instead of being governed by the host nation, international community
or humanitarian offices.
The network of Sawhrawi camps. Rabouni, founded
in 1975, is the administrative center of the Republic
Surprisingly, moving, transport and communication are a central focus
in camps. This can be traced back to the Sahrawi’s traditional nomadic
way of life. Participation in the trans-Saharan trading network made