Wide Angle. Printable Pages

For teachers - power and politics : surviving the sahara: the sahrawi people living in exile

Lesson Introduction

In this lesson, students will learn about a group of people and their desire to return to their homeland, many of whom have been refugees for nearly 30 years. The struggle of the Sahrawi people to claim Western Sahara introduces students to the idea that the security of home and a place to live is not something to be taken for granted. The women and children fled Western Sahara to live in Algeria in 1976. Since that time, they have struggled to organize themselves, bring education and health care to their people, and increase international awareness of their plight. In 2000, the National Union of the Sahrawi Women started a race, the Sahara Marathon, to publicize their situation and bring resources to their community. In this lesson, students will visit a series of Web sites to learn about the history of the Sahrawi people, their relationship with neighboring countries, their lives as refugees, and how these women have used their power to organize and obtain the resources they need to thrive in such a hostile environment.

Grade Level: 9-12

Time Allotment: Two to Three 45-Minute Class Periods

Subject Matter: Global Studies, English

Learning Objectives:

Students Will

Analyze information gathered from a variety of sources to develop a context for learning.

Demonstrate an understanding of the conflict in Western Sahara.

Investigate issues affecting women internationally and examine the steps being taken to improve their situations.

Apply geography skills.

Develop research, writing, and presentation skills to share their learning.

Academic Standards:

National Standards for History
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs/standards/worldera9.html

Standard 2C
The student understands how liberal democracy, market economies, and human rights movements have reshaped political and social life.
Standard 2D
The student understands major sources of tension and conflict in the contemporary world and efforts that have been made to address them.

National Council of Teachers of English http://www.ncte.org/about/over/standards/110846.htm

Standard 1
Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
Standard 7
Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
Standard 8
Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

Preparation

Media Components

WIDE ANGLE
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/
This is the companion site for Wide Angle, a weekly series of one-hour international documentaries. Learn more information about the shows, find interactive maps, activities, and photo essays, and explore a variety of global issues through this site.
AFRICA
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/explore/sahara/sahara_overview.html
This is the companion site to the eight-part series, AFRICA, produced by Thirteen/WNET. The Web site allows users to explore specific regions of Africa with interactive maps and navigational tools to learn about the cultures, environments, and people of this diverse continent. The site also provides games and activities for students.
BBC News UK Edition
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/2431365.stm
The BBC hosts this site, which provides timelines, country profiles, and front-page stories for anyone's use. Users can also see schedules and hear segments from BBC television and radio productions. Another area of interest is CBBC -- Programming and news articles created for younger audiences.
afrolNews
http://www.afrol.com/countries/western_sahara
afrolNews is an independent news agency created in 2000 covering news from Africa in English and Spanish.
All Africa Global Media
http://allafrica.com/westernsahara/
This site is dedicated to gathering news about Africa and making it available internationally. Users can find up-to-the-minute information or search the archives of articles.
Women, War, and Peace
http://www.womenwarpeace.org/
This site is hosted by the United Nations Development Fund for Women, whose goal is to promote women's human rights, political participation, and economic security. By exploring the site, users can research specific concerns related to health, violence, landmines, trafficking, and many other issues. Users can also explore by country of concern to learn more about issues women are facing in that region.
Western Sahara Online
http://www.wsahara.net/index.html
This site includes a comprehensive collection of information about Western Sahara: history, culture, news, and the struggle of its people for independence.
Sahara Marathon
http://www.saharamarathon.org
Use this site to find out more about the Sahara Marathon. Information is available about the sponsors, the National Union of Sahrawi Women, registration, expectations, and the history of the race.

Materials

Per Class:

Internet accessible computers
Additional resources including maps, texts, articles, etc… which may provide further background information for student use.

Per Student:

Copies of the Student Activity Worksheets

Procedures

Prep for Teachers

Duplicate the Student Activity Worksheet for each student. Gather additional resources from the media center or library. Prior to using this lesson, visit each of the Web sites listed to ensure they are still active and appropriate for your students. Bookmark the Web sites for student use. When using media, provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites, or other multimedia elements.

Introductory Activity

Explain to students that they will be investigating a group of people living as refugees for nearly thirty years. Pose the question, "What could happen that could cause you, your family, your community, even your entire city, to leave your homes and your belongings to live collectively in a foreign land?" Depending on your population of students, they will probably need prompting to determine specific examples of how this could occur -- war, famine, impure water, an incurable illness -- extreme, tragic situations many young people are unfamiliar with. Explain to the students that they will be learning about people who have had to leave their homes and live as refugees. Many of them have been away from their homeland for nearly 30 years living in elaborate refugee camps. Before we look at their lives and how they are attempting to control this situation, let's learn more about the context of their history.

Ask students to log on to the Web site:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/cambodia/atlas.html
Provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to look at the map and determine what one can learn from this map. They should be able to identify that the viewer can compare regions of the world based on social and economic indicators. Ask students what they can determine about Africa based on this graphic. Students should mention that Africa is nearly completely considered Third World, underdeveloped and not as economically or technologically advanced as other parts of the world. Explain to them that the people they will be studying live in northwestern Africa.
Ask students to log on to the Web site:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/aljazeera/map.html
This site will provide a brief introduction to the region of Africa students will investigate in more detail throughout the lesson. Provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to use the interactive map to learn more about Morocco and Algeria. After students have the opportunity to read the information and investigate the map, discuss what they have learned. They should notice that both Morocco and Algeria gained their independence from France in the last 60 years. Morocco is a Constitutional Monarchy and Algeria is a Republic. They share a border with each other and Western Sahara.
Ask students to log on to the Web site:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/explore/sahara/sahara_overview.html
This is the companion site to the PBS series, AFRICA. Provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to read the information about the Sahara and take notes on the overview of the Sahara and the ecological information available. After students have had time to read the information, check for comprehension. Confirm that they understand that the Sahara is a harsh, hot environment with limited arable land. Be sure they understand that there are natural resources that have drawn people to the area for centuries and that those same resources historically led to outside interest and colonization of many lands.

Next have students select Country Close-ups and read the information about Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, and Mauritania. Provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to pay particular attention to each country's relationship with Western Sahara. Confirm that students understand that each of these countries had an interest in the former Spanish Sahara when Spain decolonized in 1976.
Next ask students to log on to the Web site http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/2431365.stm, which is a timeline of Morocco that outlines the conflict in Western Sahara. Provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to read Morocco's history on the timeline, but concentrate on the time period from 1973 to the present, following the Polisario Movement as Morocco attempted to gain control of the area that is now Western Sahara. Using this timeline and the other resources already visited, begin to complete question number 2 on your Student Activity Worksheet. Students should develop a basic understanding of the struggle over Western Sahara, and that this has been a conflict for nearly thirty years. Additional resources to use with your students and read current news about the area are:

Western Sahara News and Archives
http://www.afrol.com/countries/western_sahara
AllAfrica.com
http://allafrica.com/westernsahara/.

Explain to students that many of the people living under Spanish Colonization fled as the violence increased and the struggle for independence went on. They fled to Algeria as refugees. The refugees were predominantly women and children, as the men stayed to fight or seek employment and security elsewhere.

Learning Activity: Creating Fact Sheets

The women of this region have an especially interesting story as they struggle to maintain order, improve their standing, and provide necessary resources to their children and community. Direct students to the Web site, A Portal on Women, Peace, and Security at http://www.womenwarpeace.org/. When you open this site, you see blinking dots on a map of the world. Each of the blinking dots represents an area of extreme concern for women living there. By exploring the page you can research specific concerns related to health, violence, landmines, trafficking, and many other issues. You can also explore by country of concern to learn more about issues women are facing in that region. Ask students to select Western Sahara on the map. Provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to read the information provided and describe how the conflict in Western Sahara has impacted the women. What steps have they taken since 1976? After students have had the opportunity to read the information, confirm that they understand that most of the Sahrawi people of Western Sahara were displaced during the fighting that started in 1976. Algeria was a supporter of the Sahrawi people and allowed them to seek refuge in their borders. Since that time, the refugees have struggled not only to return to their land, but also to have the basic resources needed to survive. Food is scarce and they have depended on aid from many organizations for nutrition and medical care. The women have taken on the leadership of the camps in ways women in traditional Sahrawi society would not have. Literacy, especially among young women, has increased, and through the National Union of the Sahrawi Women, the women have developed a powerful voice to affect change for their future and bring international attention to their current needs and desire to return to their homeland.

Have students visit the Web site Western Sahara Online at http://www.wsahara.net/index.html. Provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to read further about the refugee camps. Select the Refugee Camps from the toolbar. Read the overview of the camps, the section on Women in the Camps, and the Camps' Structure. Based on what they read, ask students to take notes on elements of life in the camps that are different than they would have expected. After students have had time to read these sections, discuss the information with them. They should have noticed that the camps are 80 percent women and children. The women have taken the responsibility of the camp life and for the dissemination of the cultural learning to a generation being reared in the camps. The camps are organized to provide services to their people in an efficient manner -- not the chaotic atmosphere students may have had in mind. The National Union of Sahrawi Women has established trade schools in addition to basic education and participates in international activities.

The National Union of Sahrawi Women has done great work to organize the camps and obtain resources for their people. In 2000, they took another step to raise awareness of their struggle as refugees waiting for a safe return to their homeland and families. The Sahara Marathon is a race hosted to bring attention to the families and children displaced in these camps. Have students visit the home page of the Sahara Marathon at http://www.saharamarathon.org. Provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to answer the questions, why is this race held, and why would anyone do it? Allow students time to read the home page and the following pages about the race and the camps. Discuss with them the goals of the organizers. Confirm that they understand it is a benefit race to raise money for the camps as well as a way to raise awareness. There are people all over the world dedicated to helping others, expanding cultural awareness, and challenging themselves physically who are willing to accept such a grueling challenge.

Culminating Activity:

One of the benchmarks for the National Standard for History standard 2C is that students will analyze how feminist movements and social conditions have affected the lives of women in different parts of the world and compare women's progress toward social equality, economic opportunity, and political rights in various countries. The struggle of the Sahrawi women is just one example of women struggling for change, leading their people, and fighting for a better future. There are women all over the world struggling with issues similar to those of the Sahrawi women. Ask students to return to the Women, War and Peace Web site at http://www.womenwarpeace.org/. Reflect for a moment at the number of dots flashing on the screen -- each identifying a region where women's basic rights are violated and where women are struggling to achieve peace. Provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to choose an area of the world to learn about. You may want to divide the class so each of the identified countries is assigned to a student. Ask students to select their country and read the information about the conflict, its effect on women, and the action being taken to address the issues in that area. The attached Student Activity Worksheet can serve as a guide. After students have had adequate time to research their country and utilize any additional resources provided in the classroom, ask them to share their findings with the class as an oral presentation or visual display. Then lead students in comparisons of what are seen as basic rights. How do their rights and living conditions compare to the women they studied?

As an additional activity, you may want to investigate Resolution 1235 with your class. In October 2000, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1235, http://www.un.org/events/res_1325e.pdf. It addresses the role of women in peacekeeping operations and the need for a gender perspective in peacekeeping operations.

Cross-Curricular Extensions:

Statistics: Look more critically at the statistics provided on the various Web sites. What could account for the differences found from one source to another? Discuss how difficult it is to accurately determine information in environments with little stability.

Health and Nutrition: What are the most significant health concerns for people living in refugee camps? What can be done to decrease the spread of disease and ensure availability of basic nutrients? Investigate these issues with your students. A good resource for this is the United Nations World Food Program http://www.wfp.org/.

Community Connections:

In order to connect student learning to activities beyond the classroom, students can become involved with any of the organizations they research, conduct fund raising, or sponsor a runner for next year's Sahara Marathon.

Students can learn more about what are considered basic human rights and how to become active as human rights supporters. You may want to use the Human Rights Basics lesson available at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/classroom/2lp3.html. From this, students could inform others on campus or in your community about human rights violations and what they can do to help.