Painter

I am a Sahrawi artist. I live and work in the Sahrawi refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria. I studied Fine Arts in Cuba. I am a painter. I try to paint scenes from the everyday life of the camps. Art is very important; its importance is in depicting realities in life. It reflects our hopes and pains. My art reflects the challenges and difficulties the refugees are facing in the camps, day-to-day challenges that the refugees have to deal with. It is very difficult. And sometimes I am just walking in the streets and I see someone trying to do something. I try to paint that scene in a painting. And this is why I love art. All what I see with my own eyes can become a work of art. I exhibited my art in Cuba, Mexico as well as in Spain. I have also shown my work in many occasions locally in the Sahrawi refugee camps. Sometimes I painted on canvases, sometimes on big murals in the camps. I have also collaborated with other artists and art organizations. One of the biggest art works I ever made was about Gdeim Izik camp, a demonstration camp in the occupied zones of Western Sahara. The artwork I participate with shows a scene from everyday life in the camps of a woman milking her goat, a typical scene in the camps. The Sahrawi have been nomads, they raised goats and camels for a long time. Many families still keep goats in the refugee camps.