Sahrawis in Spain

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Sahrawis in Spain
الصحراويين في إسبانيا
Saharauis en España
Flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.svg Flag of Spain.svg
Total population
3,000 [1] – 12,000 [2]
Languages
Hassaniya Arabic, Saharan Spanish, Spanish
Religion
Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Sahrawis, Afro-European

Sahrawis have been present in Spain since the Spanish colonisation of Western Sahara. The specific number of Spaniards of Sahrawi origin is unknown due to the fact that the Spanish government does not collect data on ethnicity or racial self-identification, together with Spain not recognising Sahrawi nationality documents from the largely unrecognised Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

Contents

History

According to a 2010 Supreme Court ruling, the Sahrawis born in the back then Spanish territory of the Spanish Sahara who did not opt for Spanish nationality in accordance with Royal Decree 2258/1976 of 10 August 1976 on the option of Spanish nationality by natives of the Sahara, [3] have lost the right to Spanish nationality. Due to the Sahrawi Republic not being recognised by Spain, most Sahrawis ended up being recognised as stateless. [4] Sahrawis living under Moroccan occupation got Moroccan citizenship.

In February 2023 the Congress of Deputies approved with the abstention of VOX and the rejection of PSOE the consideration of a bill proposed by Unidas Podemos to grant Spanish citizenship by naturalisation to the born in the territory of Western Sahara under the sovereignty of Spain before 1976, even if they do not have legal residence. [5]

Notable people

In entertainment and media

Politicians

In sports

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political status of Western Sahara</span>

Western Sahara, formerly the Spanish colony of Spanish Sahara, is a disputed territory claimed by both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro, which is an independence movement based in Algeria. The Annexation of Western Sahara by Morocco took place in two stages, in 1976 and 1979, and is considered illegal under international law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahrawis</span> People living in the western Sahara desert

The Sahrawis, or Sahrawi people, are an ethnic group and nation native to the western part of the Sahara desert, which includes the Western Sahara, southern Morocco, much of Mauritania, and along the southwestern border of Algeria. They are of mixed Hassani Arab and Sanhaji Berber descent, as well as Sub-Saharan African and other indigenous populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bir Lehlou</span> Municipality and town in Western Sahara

Bir Lehlou is an oasis town in north-eastern Western Sahara, 236 km from Smara, near the Mauritanian border and east of the border wall, in Polisario Front-held territory. It has a pharmacy, a school and a mosque. It is the head of the 5th military region of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and was the factual temporary capital of SADR until Tifariti became the temporary capital in 2008. It is also the name of a Daïra of the Wilaya of Smara, in the Sahrawi refugee camps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Union of Sahrawi Women</span> Organization

The National Union of Sahrawi Women is the women's wing of the Polisario Front. It was created in 1974, and claims to have 10,000 members, divided between the Sahrawi refugee camps, the Liberated territories, the Moroccan-occupied part of Western Sahara and the Sahrawi diaspora.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahfoud Ali Beiba</span>

Mahfoud Ali Beiba Hammad Dueihi was a Sahrawi politician and co-founder of the Polisario Front, a national liberation movement that seeks self-determination for Western Sahara. From 1975 until his death, he lived in an exile in the refugee camps of Tindouf, Algeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahrawi National Council</span> Legislature

The Sahrawi National Council (SNC) or Sahrawi Parliament is the legislature of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Its structure and competences are guided by the Constitution of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). The present speaker since 2020 is Hamma Salama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Western Sahara</span> National flag

The flag of Western Sahara, also known as the flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, uses a national flag consisting of a black, white and green horizontal tricolor charged with a red star and crescent in the center stripe and a red chevron at the hoist. It is used on SADR-controlled areas, while the Moroccan flag is used on the occupied parts of Western Sahara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign relations of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic</span>

The foreign relations of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) are conducted by the Polisario Front, which maintains a network of representation offices and embassies in foreign countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahrawi nationality law</span>

Sahrawi nationality law is the law of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) governing nationality and citizenship. The SADR is a partially recognized state which claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara, but only administers part of it. The SADR also administers Sahrawi refugee camps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic</span> Overview of and topical guide to the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic:

The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on 27 February 1976, in Bir Lehlu, Western Sahara. SADR claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony; however, at present the SADR government controls approximately 20–25% of the territory it claims. It calls the territories under its control the "Liberated Territories", whilst Morocco claims its territories as the "Southern Provinces".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brahim Ghali</span> Sahrawi President since 2016

Brahim Ghali is a Sahrawi politician, military officer and current president of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), formerly its ambassador to Algeria and Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexico–Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic relations</span> Bilateral relations

Mexico–Sahrawi Republic relations are the current and historical relations between Mexico and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Mexico recognized the SADR on 8 September 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic</span> Partially recognised state in the western Maghreb

The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, also known as the Sahrawi Republic and Western Sahara, is a partially recognized state, recognised by 45 UN member states, located in the western Maghreb, which claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara, but controls only the easternmost one-fifth of that territory. Between 1884 and 1975, Western Sahara was known as Spanish Sahara, a Spanish colony. The SADR is one of the two African states in which Spanish is a significant language, the other being Equatorial Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic–Spain relations</span> Bilateral relations

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic–Spain relations refers to the current and historical relationship between the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peru–Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic relations</span> Bilateral relations

Peru–Sahrawi Republic relations refers to the current and historical relations between the Republic of Peru and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).

Teslem Andala Ubbi, better known as Tesh Sidi, is a Sahrawi-Spanish computer engineer and politician. Having been an activist for Sahrawi independence, she was elected as an MP in the Congress of Deputies as number three on the lists of Sumar for Madrid after being nominated by Más Madrid, with whom she had previously attempted to run with for the 2023 Madrilenian regional election.

Omar Lamin i Abeidi is a Spanish social worker and politician of Sahrawi origin from the Socialist Party of the Balearic Islands. He is the first person of a migrant background to serve as a member of the Parliament of the Balearic Islands and the first Sahrawi-Spaniard to serve as a member of a regional parliament in Spain, being elected after the 2023 Balearic regional election.

References

  1. ↑ Altozano, Manuel; Cembrero, Ignacio (16 June 2010). "La policía detuvo a saharauis en Jaén al pedir la residencia" [The police detained Sahrawis in Jaén when requesting residence]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  2. ↑ Gómez Martín, Carmen (9 November 2015). "La migración saharaui en España. Estrategias de visibilidad en el tercer tiempo del exilio" [Saharawi migration in Spain. Visibility strategies in the third period of exile.](PDF). Kamchatka (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  3. ↑ "Real Decreto 2258/1976, de 10 de agosto, sobre opción de la nacionalidad española por parte de los naturales del Sahara" [Royal Decree 2258/1976, of August 10, on the option of Spanish nationality by the natives of the Sahara.]. Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). 10 August 1976. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  4. ↑ Talebbuia Hassan, Sidi (16 July 2020). "Nacionalidad española de los saharauis: comentario a la sentencia del Tribunal Supremo 207/2020" [Spanish nationality of the Sahrawis: commentary on Supreme Court ruling 207/2020]. Consejo General de la Abogacía Española (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  5. ↑ Hermida, Xosé (14 February 2023). "El Congreso da el primer paso para otorgar la nacionalidad española a los saharauis pese al rechazo del PSOE" [Congress takes the first step to grant Spanish nationality to the Sahrawis despite the rejection of the PSOE]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 July 2023.
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