The mission in Algeria: straight from the Saharawi Refugee Camps…
Newsletters are generally an opportunity to give news about programmes, describe project progress and share the mood of the field.
Today, exceptionally, we wish to use the newsletter to introduce our team in Algeria and describe the project people without whom nothing would be possible.
We are proud of having a very multinational team, with certain members representing several different ethnical groups. Algerians (Kabyles, Chaouis, Touaregs) are working with Sahawari refugees from various tribes, French nationals and a Belgian. The mood is good with each of us making the necessary efforts to communicate.
Indeed, while Algerian Arabic is the language spoken by the greatest amount of people here, we must also consider other tongues: Hasaniya (the Sahawari language), Spanish (spoken by most of the refugees) and French. You can imagine the atmosphere at internal coordination meetings !
It may be impossible to find a common language, but we all share the same vision and values : that of supporting the Sahawari refugees, of working with and for them through projects aimed at improving the refugees’ conditions of living.
Inauguration of the maternity
While the living conditions are not always easy (we live in tents, in the Algerian Sahara where extreme temperatures are commonplace), we have the fortune of having « hardliners » among us – people who have been working and “growing” here for years and are always ready to help newcomers with advice and know-how.
Their presence, their unfailing support is the cement of our team. They remind us that even in this challenging Tower of Babel, every problem has a solution, especially when we can count on one another and provide mutual support.
Here in the Sahara, we say : ، في الوحدة قوة, la unión hace la fuerza, l’union fait la force, strength lies in unity... .
