happy new year

 Wishing you'll a happy New Year. Health and peace for all and the World.
This is a sketch I did in the Western Sahara refugee camps at Tindouf, Algeria
. Women got together and celebrated the new year. Hope that soon they'll be able to celebrate in a place that they can  call home. To find out more about these women and see the sketches I made click here.

Sahara, portraits sketches from Nouakchott to Tindouf

 I had another go at digital publishing and you can now visit my second book at issuu. I couldn't post it directly to my blog, probably due to my lack of hability in tech so you'll have to click here to be able to see it.

Western Sahara refugee camps

 feeding the camels

evening drink, trying to warm up

school

tea 

toys

 January 2008, I spent 5 weeks living in the refugee camps of the Saharaouis at Tindouf, Algeria.

Those women, men and children became my friends. I was there to draw the women and their activities in the camps, running schools, health centers, coops etc.

 The courage and the determination of this people even after spending 33 years in the camps waiting for a solution, its impressive. Morocco occupied their country as the Spanish left this colony in 1975. United Nations has from as far as 1974 been saying that the western Sahara should decide by referendum of their future... too many economical interests and a strong adversary have kept this people waiting in the refugee camps at Tindouf,  in Western Sahara where they're now a minority due to the colonisation of the area by Moroccans and spread a bit all over the world. To find more about them you can check the diary of my stay here.

dancing in the refugee camps

Those sketches where done at the saharawi Refugees camps at Tindouf, Algeria, these people share with the Mauritanians the same arabe dialect, a love for poetry and a rich oral tradition. They wear the same clothes and share many other common things but their history evolved differently during the periods when they were colonised by two different countries, Western Sahara by Spain, Mauritania by France and the story goes on...


Mooresses wear a five meter long piece of cloth that they wrap around themselves with the help of two small knots in the fabric that allow the head to slip in and an arm and then is wrapped around their head and shoulders.


During the weddings and when they get together women dance using the fabric to cover or uncover themselves. Their hands and fingers move like butterflies on flight and for me it all looks very sensual.


The young man here is singing at a wedding, woman take turns to dance and contrary to Mauritania where its usual to men to get up and dance here in the camps I never saw that.

In a girls get together a new way of dancing where hip and belly movements were incorporated I could tell of the influence of Algerian and a other arabic countries styles that they watch on satellite t.v. music programs.

You can find more about life in the camps on my blog http://sahara.uniterre.com

children

Children love to be drawn and they can stay in a position without breathing for a long while.

These are children from the refugee camps at Tindouf in Algeria, their families left Western Sahara in 1975 and these children were born and are growing up as refugees.







Those underneath are from the south east from Mauritania from a village called Goungel.

those ones from Khali, south east as well.

and those boys are from the village of R'Gueiba in the Banc d'Arguin.