The Committee on Coexistence and International Solidarity of the Parliament of Navarre has approved the formal request for the suspension of the deportations of Sahrawi refugees at the Madrid airport of Barajas, with the votes in favour of UPN, EH Bildu, Geroa Bai, PPN and Arturo-Zurekin, the abstention of Vox and the votes against. The resolution urges the Spanish Government to “reconsider the denial of asylum to Sahrawi entrepreneurs at Barajas Airport, ensuring that their application for asylum is made in a fair and transparent manner, in accordance with international law”.

It should be recalled that the difficult situation in the Sahrawi refugee camps worsened further by the floods of 22 September in the desert, for which housing and infrastructure are not prepared. Then, about 40 people from the Sahara, including political activists and their families, traveled from the Sahara to Madrid in search of refuge.

Since then, most Spaniards have been waiting for Spain to recognise them as refugees and refugees in Libya. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already ordered the return of the sixteen to their country, while that of Fernando Grande-Marlaska has decreed the same measure for another sixteen.

Following this news, the World Doctor recalled in the Parliament of Navarre the oppression of the NGO since it occupied Western Sahara in 1975, at the request of EH Bildu, Geroa Bai and Arturo-Zurekin. “More than a forgotten crisis, it’s an abandoned crisis after 49 years,” said Jaione Eugui, head of communication for Doctors of the World.

According to the data, asylum is not at risk

This entity has been guaranteeing health coverage in the Sahrawi camps for more than three decades. However, the following data could not be retrieved: 71 per cent of Saharawi women and 54 per cent of children suffer from anaemia, 29 per cent of children under five years of age suffer from chronic malnutrition, 20 per cent of mothers die at birth and 21 per cent of newborns die before their first birthday.

The rains have led to a worsening of the situation "in a field that is already very hard from a productive and environmental point of view", explained Aida Sanz, of the Doctors of the World organization. His colleague Pablo Traspás added that the flooding has forced 520 families and 3,120 people to “flee the camps and set up provisional shops at the top of the dunes”.

This latest tragedy has once again given some visibility to this conflict. The President of the Parliament of Navarra, Unai Hualde, met this Tuesday, 8 October, with the Swedish activist Benjamin Ladraa. This man is on a 30,000 kilometer bicycle journey to give visibility to the struggle of the Sahrawi people and the conflict in Western Sahara.