James Baquet

Talking about the Western Sahara is barely like talking about a cohesive country at all.

Until 1976, the region was known as the Spanish Sahara, as it was an overseas department of Spain from 1884 to 1975. It was one of the last acquisitions of the now-defunct Spanish Empire, and was in turn one of its last remaining holdings.

Due to pressure from northern neighbor Morocco, a turn in international opinion against colonization, and demands from the Sahwaris — the native people of the area — Spain withdrew all forces and settlers from the territory. Mauritania, to the south and east, had also lodged claims, but relinquished them in 1979. Western Sahara also shares a very short border with Algeria to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean lies to its west.

The situation of the territory today is, to say the least, complex. Its northern reaches are occupied by Morocco (which calls the whole of Western Sahara its “Southern Provinces”), and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (or SADR) controls the easternmost one-fifth of the area, though it claims the whole territory.

The SADR has diplomatic relations with 40 some U.N. states, and is recognized by seven more. Earlier this year it was recognized by 85 states, but 38 of these have “suspended,” “frozen” or “withdrawn” recognition for one reason or another, often in solidarity with the claims of Morocco. The SADR is, however, a full member of the African Union, and has embassies in 18 states.

Western Sahara is one of the most sparsely populated areas in the world, with its 266,000 square kilometers being populated by an estimated half-million people. Its geography — as the name implies — is overwhelmingly desert, some of the planet’s most inhospitable. Smallish mountains in the northeast reach no higher than 600 meters.

The Sahrawis are a traditionally nomadic people of many tribes, speaking a dialect of Arabic, though some still speak Berber and, of course, Spanish. Though mainly Muslim, their nomadic Bedouin past has led to unique characteristics, such as eschewing the building of mosques.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. without favorable living conditions

2. indicates, suggests

3. gave up

4. things that are possessed

5. unified, well-integrated

6. unity, common cause

7. avoiding, rejecting

8. things that are acquired

9. wandering, without established residences

10. no longer in existence