Sulaiman Labat (Short bio)
Ethnographic Historian / Linguist / Storyteller
Sulaiman Labat was born in a nomadic family in Western Sahara. He lived much of his life as a nomad. When Morocco occupied Western Sahara, he and his family joined the movement of resistance. Like many of the Saharawi families at the time, the war and atrocities pushed them to seek refugee in neighboring Algeria. He witnessed, and took part in, many events in the Saharawi modern history such the Azemla Intifada in 1970, the 16 year war with Morocco, and the establishment of the refugee camps, but he also remembers important events from the 50s and 60s. He also invested in asking the elderly about the different aspects of life in Western Sahara. He has written the first copy of The Nomadic Calendar, an artistic and research project together with his son Mohamed Sleiman Labat, they often collaborate in different project, he is a featured protagonist in the film DESERT PHOSfate and The Year of Balls, but he is working on a number of projects of his own, including ethnographic history, Saharawi traditions, and linguistic projects about Hassanya the oral language of the Saharawi people.
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