The dispute in Western Sahara is one of the longest running and most disregarded conflicts in the world. It is comparable to the Israeli/Palestinian issue except not half as trendy.

Known as 'Africa's last colony' Western Sahara is a sparsely populated, arid place. The former Spanish colony has been subject to an occupation by neighbouring Morocco for the past thirty-four years. The resultant humanitarian rights crisis is scandalous in itself, but perhaps a greater outrage is the abject failure of the international community to adequately address the ongoing situation. For over three decades international law has been flouted whilst governments around the world are complacent or complicit in permitting the occupation and even profiting from it.

165,000 Saharawi people have been living in refugee camps in the Algerian desert for over 30 years.  Temperatures of 120 degrees, sandstorms, and dependence on external supplies of food and water are things that the refugees have resigned themselves to enduring. But the despondency that comes of waiting in exile whilst promises are broken and hopes repeatedly dashed is something to which they can never adjust.

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Sandblast is an arts and human rights charity which aims to empower the Saharawi refugees to tell their own story, promote their culture and earn a living through the arts.

Through the Saharawi Artist Fund Sandblast finances projects in the refugee camps to facilitate cultural/artistic expression and development, and help develop collaborations between Saharawis and artists worldwide. In order to help raise funds for its projects and to continue raising awareness of the situation worldwide Sandblast is promoting  "Running the Sahara 2010" (aka The Sahara Marathon).

I will be running The Sahara Marathon to raise money for Sandblast and its projects in February 2010.


Your sponsorship will enable me to join hundreds of people from around the world in solidarity for the Saharawi's. The number of people becoming aware of the situation is escalating and with any luck the tipping point will be reached soon and political figures internationally will be forced to take positive action on behalf of the Sahrawis. Your sponsorship will also enable Sandblast to continue its brilliant work in getting Sahrawi's art and music shown and sold worldwide.

I would hugely appreciate it if you could pop whatever you can in the box...a pound will do. If you were planning on giving me a nice big Chrismas present then this would be it.

If you don't have any spare cash but you want to know more about the Sahrawis situation and might be persuaded to get involved, write to your local mp etc then check out:

http://freesahara.ning.com/

If you have read this far down then thank you so much for ploughing though!

xxxx