Press Features
Explore past and present news coverage, generated by Sandblast’s work with the Saharawis
The International Women’s Day March in 2024
International Women’s Day as a Refugee
Danielle Smith | The Morning Star | April 2024
Tens of thousands of exiled Saharawi women live in refugee camps in Algeria – but their hopes of achieving justice, peace and returning to their homeland remain undiminished, writes Danielle Smith.
“We only wish for our right to exist, to decide our future, to return to our country and to live freely and with out fear.” Fatimetu Malainin
This year, along with tens of thousands of other Saharawi women, Fatimetu will once again be celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8 in the harsh desert camps of her exile. For some of the women, it will be their 49th year. Despite all the time that has passed, they still hold on to the hope of achieving justice and peace and returning to their homeland.
Desert Voicebox inspires hope in the Saharawi refugee camps
Caravel Magazine | October 22nd, 2022
Desert Voicebox students and teachers speak with Caravel about how profound and necessary a programme like Desert Voicebox is in the context of the conflict in Western Sahara and how it gives children a safe outlet for their creativity.
”We want to speak about our rights for a better life, not the life of a refugee,” said Aisha, 10, as she addressed a small crowd in English during her school’s musical performance in the Saharawi refugee camps earlier this year.
Life in a refugee camp in Tindouf in the Sahara desert. Alberto Canalejo/Shutterstock.
Endless Sands of Time
Kary Stewart | Wilson Quarterly | Fall 2021
Desert Voicebox teacher Nanaha Bachri shares her experiences growing up in the camps and what the meant in context of her own ancestry.
The story of her family is a tale of how prolonged human displacement spans generations – and shapes the worldview of those who are affected by it.
“We will keep seeking freedom until the last Sahrawi human has died. I’m sure that will not happen. We will have our land back. That’s my land. The land of my grandparents and my great grandparents. It’s the land of our roots. We will have our land back. If not me, then my hope is for the next generation.” - Nanaha Bacri.
Spotlight on Sandblast
University of Essex Human Rights Centre Blog | July 3, 2021
Sandblast founder Danielle Smith speaks about the situation in Western Sahara, the work being done by Sandblast, and more to highlight their important work in support of the Saharawi people of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony in North West Africa.
“It is believed that about 70% of their cultural heritage has disappeared since Saharawis first fled into this harsh desert zone, 46 years ago, to escape the war sparked by Morocco’s military occupation of their homeland in Western Sahara in 1975.” says Danielle Smith.
answering a question from one of the Human Rights Centre at Essex students.
Gender rights in Western Sahara: will future generations of Saharawi women maintain their position as 'owners of the tent'?
Danielle Smith | University of Essex Human Rights Centre Blog | June 30, 2021
Sandblast founder Danielle Smith speaks about the central leadership role of women in the refugee camps, their participation in the struggle for liberation, as well as new challenges faced by Saharawi women.
In Saharawi society, married women are described as the “mutKhayima”, literally translated as “the owner of the tent”. This means even when a man is married, the tent exclusively belongs to his wife and she can kick him out at any time if she is displeased with him.
Spotlight on Political Limbo and Statelessness in Africa's Last Colony
Danielle Smith and Violeta Ruano | European Network on Statelessness April 1st 2021
Danielle Smith, Founding Director of Sandblast Arts, and Dr. Violeta Ruano reflect on the impact of limited opportunities in Algeria's refugee camps on the migration of Saharawis to Europe, some of the challenges they face as stateless people in Spain, and what recent developments may mean for the Saharawi people.
Identity, nationality and freedom are some of the most important words for the Saharawi people.
Photograph: Stefano Montesi/Demotix/Corbis
Fourty Years of Suffering for Saharawi Refugees from Western Sahara
The Guardian | November 4th, 2015
While the current refugee crisis across Europe makes headlines, the people of Western Sahara have been experiencing a refugee crisis for [50] years.
While the UN has so far failed the people of Western Sahara, this refugee crisis is not going away. For as long as it continues, we stand beside the people of Western Sahara in their struggle for justice and self-determination.
Tiris: Sandtracks Review
Robin Denselow | The Guardian | December 8th, 2011
Acclaimed author and journalist Robin Denselow gives Tiris a 4-star rating on their innovative album, Sandtracks, in the Guardian.
If they weren't stranded in refugee camps in the desert in south-west Algeria, Tiris would surely be one of the success stories of north Africa. They are an eight-piece band of Saharawis, who fled from the upheavals in their homeland, in the Moroccan-controlled western Sahara, but have created their own fusion of local styles, reggae, jazz and flamenco.