Smara – Four members of the Rguibat-Lbihat tribe, who were among the beneficiaries of the family visit exchange, decided not to return to Tindouf camps and to settle permanently in the motherland.
The four are a 43-year-old mother, her daughter, 24, a 23-year-old man and his 20-year-old brother. They had arrived in Smara on 19 September, as part of the 17th UNHCR-led family visit exchange operation between Morocco’s southern provinces and Tindouf camps, southern Algeria.
In an interview with the MAP, Mohamed Salem, the husband, expressed his joy at reunion with his family in Smara, and his “great relief” that the ordeal they have suffered for more than three decades has come to an end.
He added that they have taken this decision after witnessing, firsthand, the remarkable growth experienced by the city of Smara and the climate of security and stability prevailing in the motherland.
“All the Moroccans detained in the Sahrawi camps in Tindouf cherish the same hope of returning to the motherland and getting out of the harsh living conditions, abuse and insecurity prevailing there,” he said.
“The Polisario leadership strives to maintain this state of family separation,” he said.
For his part, Mohamed Saleh Ould Sid Al-alem El Idrissi welcomed the news of the return of his cousins, calling it a “new birth.”
He added that the living conditions in the camps are “indescribable.”
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