The moroccans lived in the years of lead from the north to the south in the 70′, 80′ and the beginning of 90. People were imprisonned for their opinions from the north and from the south (Western Sahara). People were persecuted in the north and in the south. People disappeared in the north and in the south. That was hassan II manner to deal with the internal affairs. After the establishment of Mohammed VI things has been changing in all aspects.
The work of CCDH and the Equity and Reconciliation Commission is very interesting in this matter. Many other high persons who were imprisonned lastly were interviewed by the IER commission. Helicopters story also happened in the north of the kingdom in MORE figures.
You will be wrong if you dissociate the years of lead in Western Sahara from the whole country.
There were many meetings in Laayoune with persecuted people in the 70, 80 and 90′. Persecuted people narrated their stories online on TV. The dark page of the moroccan history was turned out and the reconciliation was done.

So, everything else is about speculation and lack of intellectual honesty.

I don’t know how CORCAS’s head, Ould Rachid, can support Moroccan rule when he testified that Moroccan soldiers threw Sahrawi civilians out of helicopters. If a country invaded the US and did that to my friends, I wouldn’t be clamoring for the occupation to continue.

More to read about hassani poetry from Western Sahara :
http://www.sahara-culture.com/eng/LiteraturePoetry/Poetry/tabid/350/Default.aspx

More to see (poetry evenin parties) :
http://www.sahara-culture.com/eng/LiteraturePoetry/PoetryEveningParty/tabid/349/Default.aspx

More poetry translations, please, whoever wrote it and why.

My advice is to be aware of subliminal propaganda of polisario supporters with subliminal messages. I wish you see what I mean.

All the best

Ahmed Salem

No, I was not aware that the poem was popular prior to this posting, nor did I know who it was about. The way the poem was posted by the blogger made it appear that he wrote it. Unfortunately, many bloggers cut and paste others’ work without considering copyright and attribution.

Jillian

Thanks

Ahmed Salem

I should have mentioned that Amira al Hussaini worked on the translation (though I can read it in Arabic, and it certainly does have a better ring to it!)

Thank you for clarifying who the poem is about!