That patch of land in Northern Africa, usually known as the Western Sahara, is the biggest patch of land currently non-self-governed in the world. It's also known as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic by its self-proclaimed government. The largest city and de jure capital is Laayoune/El Aaiún, but the SADR does not control it, instead basing itself in a small oasis town called Tifariti, located some 300 km to the southeast.
Originally a Spanish colony, it handed the administration of the colony in 1975 to a joint effort by Morocco and Mauritania (the former had started claiming it since 1957). They couldn’t get along and eventually a war erupted; that’s when the Polisario Front, a liberation movement of the Sahrawis, nomads of mixed Arab-Amazigh blood, proclaimed the independence of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. When the war ended, Morocco took possession of much of the terrain and population, including half of the Sahrawis, while exiling the other half to Algeria, where they live in refugee camps to this day.
The place itself is almost a Death World with mostly desert, interrupted by the occasional highway that goes from town to town, its shores are too high and rocky to be used as beaches or ports and it doesn’t seem to have much oil (or at least, it’s not that accessible). The population is barely over 550,000 people, mostly Moroccans and Sahrawis, spread over a territory larger than Britain, making it among the least densely-populated places on the planet.
The place as of today is divided between a zone controlled by Morocco (next to the shore) and a zone controlled by the Polisario Front (the inland part). The Moroccan part is by far the more heavily populated, containing the aforementioned Laayoune, and the Moroccan government has been working like hell to develop the region and endear it to the government in Rabat. The Front is backed by Algeria, which Morocco claims to be the one pulling its strings, which sees the conflict as part of a wider grudge against Morocco that started when the latter attempted to take some territory off them (which had been transferred to them by France, their colonial power). Morocco, on the other hand, is supported by France and, occasionally, the United States. No side is willing to back down, though Morocco is willing to offer autonomy to the Sahrawis. This comes as no surprise since Spain, one of Morocco's two former masters (Spain controlled most of the Mediterranean coast of Morocco from 1912 to 1956), counts two autonomous communities in Morocco as part of its dominion to this day. An independent Western Sahara is recognized by less than half of the United Nations members, none of them part of the Security Council. The African countries are divided over the issue, though SADR was admitted to the African Union in 1982, causing Morocco to quit in protest, although it rejoined the organization in 2017. The Arab League officially supports Morocco's position, but five of its members (including, of course, Algeria) recognize the SADR. Starting from 2019, several countries supporting Morocco or otherwise switching sides from the SADR (most of them located in Africa and the Arab world) opened consulates in Laayoune and the seaside town of Dakhla, with the United States officially recognizing Morocco's claim to the territory in December 2020 in exchange for an agreement normalizing relations between Morocco and Israel.
Notable Works:
The Sahrawi flag
The flag uses all four Pan-Arab colors, and is similar to that used by Palestine, distinguishable only by the red crescent and star in the center, symbolizing Islam. Were the Polisario Front to be granted independence, the black and green stripes would be inverted.
The Sahrawi national anthem
يا بني الصحراء
يا بني الصحراء
يا بني الصحراء
يا بني الصحراء
انتم في الوغى
حاملي المشعل
في الدرب الطويل
اصنعوا الثورة
في أمتنا
واسلكوا من أجلها هذا السبيل
اقطعوا رأس الدخيل
اقطعوا رأس الدخيل
أيها الثوار
يا مجد الوطن
اقطعوا الاقطاع
في هذا الربوع
وانزعو بالحرب أسباب الفتن
ورفضوها لا خضوع لا خنوع
لا عميل لا دخيل
لا عميل لا دخيل
أيها السائل عنا إننا
من تحدى في الجهاد المستحيل
نحن من حطم ذاك الوثنا
نحن من لقنه الدرس الجليل
إننا شعب نبيل
إننا شعب نبيل
نحن من أعلناها ضد
الغزاة ثورة تحرق كل الغاصبين
إنها الحرب التي تمحو الطغات
وتقر الحق حق الكادحين
إننا شعب نبيل
إننا شعب نبيل
إنها الثورة من أجل الشعوب
وستمضي في البلاد العربية
تصنع الوحدة دوما في القلوب
وتقيم العدل والديمقراطية
كل قرن كل جيل
كل قرن كل جيل
note
Yā banī ṣ-ṣaḥrāʾi
Yā banī ṣ-ṣaḥrāʾi
Yā banī ṣ-ṣaḥrāʾi
Yā banī ṣ-ṣaḥrāʾi
antam fī l-waġā
ḥāmilī l-mašʿali
fī d-darbi ṭ-ṭawīl
Iṣnaʿū ṯ-ṯawrata
fī ummatinā
w-aslukū min aǧlihā haḏā s-sabīl
Iqṭaʿū raʾsa d-daḫīl
iqṭaʿū raʾsa d-daḫīl
Ayyuhā ṯ-ṯuwwāru
yā maǧd al-waṭan
iqṭaʿu l-iqṭāʿa fī haḏī r-rubūʿ
Wa-nzaʿū bi-l-ḥarbi asbāba l-fitan w-arfuḍūhā lā ḫuḍūʿu lā ḫunūʿ
Lā ʿamīlu lā daḫīl lā ʿamīlu lā daḫīl
Ayyuhā s-sāʾilu ʿannā innanā
man taḥaddā fī l-ǧihādi l-mustaḥīl
Naḥnu man ḥaṭṭama ḏāka l-waṯanā naḥnu man laqqanahu d-darsa l-ǧalīl
Innanā šaʿbu nabīl
innanā šaʿbu nabīl
Naḥnu man aʿlannāhā ḍida
l-ġuzāt ṯawratu taḥriqu kulla l-ġāṣibīn
Innahā l-ḥarbu l-latī tamḥū ṭ-ṭuġāt
wa-tuqirru l-ḥaqqa ḥaqqa l-kādiḥīn
Innanā šaʿbu nabīl
innanā šaʿbu nabīl
Innahā ṯ-ṯawratu min aǧli š-šuʿūb
wa-satamḍī fī l-bilādi l-ʿarabīya
Taṣnaʿu l-wiḥdata dawmā fī l-qulūb
wa-tuqīmu l-ʿadla wa-d-dīmuqrāṭīya
Kulla qarni kulla ǧīl
kulla qarni kulla ǧīl
—
¡Oh, hijos del Sáhara!
¡Oh, hijos del Sáhara!
¡Oh, hijos del Sáhara!
¡Oh, hijos del Sáhara!
En el campo de batalla,
ustedes son titulares
de antorcha en el camino largo
Haga la revolución en nuestra nación
y siga este camino por ella.
Corte la cabeza del invasor.
Corte la cabeza del invasor.
O revolucionarios, la patria será gloriosa.
Corte los estados en esta región.
Quite con la guerra las causas
para la protesta y abandónelo;
ninguna sumisión, ningún ceder.
Ningún agente, ningún invasor,
ningún agente, ningún invasor.
Usted que pregunta sobre nosotros:
somos estos que conducen la lucha de transformación.
Somos estos que rompen a aquel ídolo,
somos estos que entienden la lección hermosa.
Somos la gente del camino;
somos la gente del camino.
Somos estos que revelaron el camino contra la incursión,
el que que quema encima de a los asaltantes.
Esto es la guerra para borrar al opresor
y establecer el derecho de los trabajadores.
Somos la gente del camino;
somos la gente del camino.
El levantamiento es para la gente
y avanzará en las tierras árabes.
Esto producirá la unidad siempre en los corazones
y establecerá la justicia y la democracia.
Cada siglo, cada generación,
cada siglo, cada generación.
—
O sons of the Sahara!
O sons of the Sahara!
O sons of the Sahara!
O sons of the Sahara!
In the battlefield,
you are torch holders
in the long road
Make revolution in our nation
and follow this path for her sake.
Cut off the head of the invader.
Cut off the head of the invader.
O revolutionaries, the homeland will be glorious.
Cut off the estates in this region.
Remove in war the causes
for protest and abandon it;
no submission, no yielding.
No agent, no invader,
no agent, no invader.
You who ask about us:
we are the ones who drive the transforming struggle.
We are the ones who smash that idol,
we are the ones who understand the beautiful lesson.
We are the people of the path;
we are the people of the path.
We are the ones who revealed the path against the raid,
the one that burns up the raiders.
It is the war to erase the oppressor
and establish the right of the laborers.
We are the people of the path;
We are the people of the path.
The uprising is for the people
and will advance in the Arab lands.
It will produce unity forever in the hearts
and will establish justice and democracy.
Every century, every generation,
every century, every generation.
Government
- Unitary one-party semi-presidential republic
- President: Brahim Ghali
- Prime Minister: Bouchraya Hammoudi Bayoun
Miscellaneous
- Largest city: Laayoune
- Population: 567,402
- Area: 266,000 km² (103,000 sq mi)
- ISO-3166-1 Code: EHnote Not currently in use; reserved for if the conflict results in an agreement between Morocco and the Polisario Front
