TWO AUSTRALIAN FILMMAKERS SHOWED THE WORLD SOME PRACTICES OF SLAVERY IN TINDOUF CAMPS RUN BY POLISARIO
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SOME PRACTICES OF SLAVERY IN TINDOUF CAMPS RUN
BY POLISARIO
Two Australian film makers Violeta Ayala and Dan fallshaw , who had
originally gone to Tindouf camps to make a documentary about a UN –
supervised family reunion program, over a period of two and a half
month, discovered that the refugee camps run and supervised by
Polisario tolerates and allows slavery practices .
The two filmmakers developed a warm relationship with the refugees
and particularly with the family of Fatim (a Black skin Sahraoui
refugee) until they started recording testimonials of slavery, As one
of the filmmakers Dan made it clear during an interview at the
Australian National radio ABC, when he said “ I guess within the
camps, some black sahraouis, consider themselves slaves, that means
they owned by somebody else, or a property of another person.”
Relationship with the filmmakers soured was when they started
recording testimonials of slavery. As soon as Polisario officials
realized that Sahraoui refugees of black skin, and particularly fatim,
in addition to her husband and their daughter Leil were giving them
testimonials, the Polsario security services started putting pressure
on Fatim’s family, particularly when Polisario officials learned that
Hocine, fatim’s husband and her daughter Leil spoke freely with the
filmmakers on the camera with the presence of fatim.
Making a film about slavery in Tindouf camps is not acceptable from
the Polisario leadership’s point of you, therefore stopping the
filming was urgency, so the filmmakers were detained by Polisario
officials and had to organize their own safe passage from the camps.
The filmmakers have not mispresented anything nor betrayed anybody;
on the contrary they are professional reporters who have made a film
worth seeing about an important and critical issue. As Violeta said
during the interview with the Australian National Radio :
“ There are nine people in the film, who talked about slavery;
this film is about our experiences, our story and what happened to us.
How people came to us and told us this story. It is about every viewer
of the film to make up their minds.”
The film that created controversy within the Australian national
public alleges that slavery is widespread in the Tindouf camps,
therefore the immediate reaction is that so many Australians who were
supporters of Polisario after watching the film started doubting the
Polisario and its credibility, especially when both filmmakers Ayala
revelations about the extent of slavery in Tindouf camps. In this
respect DAN says: “We felt we have a moral obligation to tell the
story, there are several people on the film who spoke against slavery,
and they want the story to be heard, there was a group of men who
travelled 2000 kms across the desert to come and tell their own
stories to us” he added “The UN …. When we were talking about slavery
on the ground , they say they did not know that it exits but when we
travelled to Geneva , the deputy director for North Africa in the UN
organizations said that they know it exists in the area where the
refugee camps .”
Fatim was brought to Sydney film festival by Polisario and was told
to deny any involvement in the film in terms of talking about the
slavery phenomenon within the inhabitants of the refugee camps, she
was also told by the Polisario not to talk to the filmmakers.
“STOLEN” the title of the movie is not controversial documentary, it
does reflect another humanitarian aspect of Sahraoui refugee in
Tindouf camps; the film raises serious questions about whether freedom
of speech exists in the refugee camps or not. It is the Polisario who
has forced the film participants to retract their words. The film
shows to what extent the refugees are scared of the Polisario security
services.
The Polisario propaganda machine failed this time to convince the
Australian and international opinion public of the non –existence of
slavery in the camps, in fact Polisario officials are extremely
worried about this event, as it is more likely damaging “their cause”.
Large Discussions within the Australian society have led to a number
of Australians who refused the Polisario propaganda that the film is
fraudulent, the Polisario efforts to confiscate the film shows that
they had something very damaging to hide. Clearly once the movie was
out in the open the Polisario have been mounting a last minute
propaganda campaign that has the backing of the Australia Western
Sahara Association (AWSA)
Polisario has enjoyed for a long time the support of some Australian
NGO’s. The production of such well documented film tackling the
phenomenon of Slavery in Tindouf camps , in addition to the projection
of the movie in the Sydney festival movie, and the strong reaction of
the media, political parties, human rights activists, members of the
government and other components of the Australian society have shaken
Polisario’s argument put forward to the Australian people, and created
a new atmosphere to reconsider the Polisario propaganda, and the way
Australia as a country should deal with the Polisario front in the
future .
Those who support the Polisario need to check their facts; if the
Polisario is so clean and honest why did so many of their early
leaders and refugees (mounting to thousands) leave the camps? Why
the Polisario has the one leader for over 30 years?
People in the Australia Western Sahara Association (AWSA) may be
living in the past glory days of resistance and freedom fighters ;
while the world has changed around them, for me and others Polisario
(after this scandalous documented and proven film about slavery in
Tindouf camps ) lost its credibility.