Nearly all of Africa was decolonized in the 1960s and 1970s. But there is one slice of the continent that wasn’t. That’s the sparsely populated territory of Western Sahara, a Colorado-sized swathe of land in northwest Africa. When Spain’s colonial government left in 1975, Moroccan troops moved in – denying the indigenous Sahrawi people an independent state. Forty-four years later, around half the Sahrawi live in exile in refugee camps in Algeria – and Moroccan settlers now outnumber the Sahrawi in their old homeland. With Morocco imposing a news blockade on the disputed territory and making diplomatic progress in having its claims to the territory recognized, a long-delayed independence referendum seems more remote than ever. On this edition of Global Journalist, a look at Western Sahara’s frozen conflict – and the effects of a news blockade that has prevented independent media from reporting on the remote region. Joining the program: Stephen Zunes, professor of politics and international relations, University of San Francisco Nazha El Khalidi, journalist and human rights activist, Equipe Media, Western Sahara Alfonso Armada, president, Reporters Without Borders – Spain Maria Carrión, executive director, FiSahara Film Festival Assistant producers: Laura Miserez, Arianna Suardi Supervising producer: Trevor Hook Visual editor: Benjamin Brink Jr.
