Why Sahrawi refugees don't count on census to provide relief
Some international parties are pushing for an independent census regarding the number of Sahrawi refugees in Algeria, but some in the camps say they have reasons to be opposed.
TINDOUF, Algeria — The international community is pushing for an independent census to determine the number of Sahrawi refugees living in Algeria, but the effort is meeting considerable resistance.
Estimates of the number of Sahrawis — the indigenous people of the Moroccan-occupied territories in disputed Western Sahara — living in Algerian camps vary greatly. The Sahrawi political-military movement Polisario Front places the figure at 160,000. Morocco, which controls most of the disputed territory in which the refugees once lived, says Algeria is sheltering at most 50,000 refugees.
An accurate count needs to be established so countries that contribute aid know how much is actually needed amid allegations that Algeria and the Polisario Front have inflated the need and are embezzling excess aid. The Polisario, on the other hand, says Morocco is low-balling refugee numbers to undermine their case for an independent state.
The Polisario Front declared a state in the disputed North African desert territory that it calls the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in 1976. Morocco controls more than 75% of the area. Algeria allows the front to administer the refugee camps.
