What is sahraouis?

The Sahrawi people, also spelled Saharawi, are an ethnic group and nation native to the Western Sahara, a territory disputed between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). They are of mixed Arab and Berber descent.

Historically, the Sahrawi were nomadic, traversing the Sahara Desert and engaging in trade and pastoralism. Their society was traditionally organized into tribes with strong oral traditions, including poetry and storytelling.

The modern history of the Sahrawi is largely defined by the decolonization of Spanish Sahara in 1975 and the subsequent conflict with Morocco and Mauritania. Morocco annexed the territory, leading to a protracted war with the Polisario Front, the Sahrawi liberation movement. A ceasefire was established in 1991, but the status of Western Sahara remains unresolved.

Many Sahrawi live in refugee camps in the Tindouf Province of Algeria, where the SADR government is based. These camps rely heavily on international aid. There are also significant Sahrawi populations within the Moroccan-administered portions of Western Sahara, where they face discrimination and human rights abuses.

Their culture is heavily influenced by their nomadic past, and their language, Hassaniya Arabic, is a dialect of Arabic with Berber influences. Islam is the predominant religion.