#sahara – the shiny diaries

📍 Western Sahara 🇪🇭

Western Sahara is a disputed territory on the northwest coast of Africa and is among the most arid and inhospitable on the planet. Colonised by Spain until 1975, about 20% of the territory is controlled by the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); while the remaining 80% is occupied and administered by Morocco with tacit support from France and the United States. A nationalist movement, the Polisario Front, has proclaimed the rightful leadership of the SADR with a government in exile in Tindouf, Algeria. The UN considers the Polisario Front to be the legitimate representative of the Saharawi people and maintains the Saharawis have a right to self determination. Western Sahara is the last African colonial state yet to achieve its independence and has been dubbed “Africa’s last colony”.

The book is a memoir of the Saharawi author, Sara Cheikh. Born in the Smara refugee camp in Tindouf, where she lived till the age of six, Sara later immigrated to Spain and is currently living in Paris. In the March of 2020, Sara decides to travel to Western Sahara to see her grandmother, Noa; just when the world is discovering about Covid-19. Despite a very uncertain and anxious start to her journey from Paris, she travels to Algiers, then Tindouf, then Smara and ultimately to Mheiriz in the liberated territory where she meets Noa and many members of her family. However, by this time, border closures have started happening all over the world and Sara is left panicking if she is ever going to go back to Europe. Her journey back from the desolate desert terrains forms the crux of this story that keeps us, the readers on the edge of our seats.

Sara’s writing is descriptive, nuanced and humorous. She carefully describes the geopolitical situation of the Saharawi people and benevolently introduces us to their culture, traditions and cuisine. The desert forms an important character in the prose and its harshness and kindness has been lucidly illustrated by the author. As you read the book, you discover that Saharawi women are fierce, independent and liberal minded. Sara’s mother, Gbnaha, comes across as this daring go-getter with a charming attitude who is tough and strong willed. The Saharawi men also appear to be supportive, convivial and progressive. The book is peppered with archival and personal pictures of the Saharawi territories and the people. Through the book, Sara tries portraying her juxtaposition as she battles her European upbringing with her Saharawi consciousness and makes a compelling case about a hyphenated existence.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Insha Allah is one of those rare books written by a Saharawi talking about the forgotten territory of Western Sahara. With this book, you realise that even in 2024, there’s colonialism present and the same colonisers are giving lessons to the world about freedom and equal rights. What a time to be alive!

~ JUST A GAY BOY. 🥹

📍 Mauritania 🇲🇷

Mauritania is a sovereign country in Northwest Africa. It is the 11th-largest country in Africa, and 90% of its territory is situated in the Sahara. It achieved independence in 1960 from French colonialism but has since experienced recurrent coups and periods of military dictatorship. Despite an abundance of natural resources, Mauritania remains poor. It was the last country in the world to abolish slavery, in 1981, and criminalised it only in 2007. (Source Wikipedia)

This book is the first novel ever to be translated into English from Mauritania. It was originally published in French in 2015 and translated by Rachael McGill in 2018. The book won the Ahmadou Kourouma Prize in 2016 (the prize was established in 2004 in honour of the Ivorian writer Ahmadou Kourouma, and it is awarded annually to works of fiction and nonfiction concerning Black Africa).

The story traces the journey of a young Bedouin girl, Rayhana, who has run away from her tribe and is on a mission to find the thing that has been snatched from her with force and deceit. While running away she has taken the sacred, symbolic and pious drum, rezzam, that belongs to her tribe and represents their pride and honour. She embarks on this perilous journey through the unforgiving Sahara and reaches a small town, Atar, and finally to the capital, Nouakchott. During this sojourn, she encounters various people who help her in their own ways, in achieving her mission, and also protect her from her tribe who are in search of her to retrieve their prized drum. Standout characters include that of the slave girl, Mbarka, who has now become a sex worker; and the very colourful and jovial queer guy, Hama.

The book is a raw, unapologetic and uncomfortable narrative of Rayhana’s turmoil. The chapters oscillate between the past and the present as does Rayhana’s thoughts from her secure yet stifling existence in her tribe, to the unknown and unwelcoming mores of the city life. She is torn about the fact that, she still cradles the belongingness she feels towards her tribe whilst despising the carefree and untethered cultural values of the city. She still remains a prisoner of her unpropitious upbringing, though freedom is now within her reach.

The author, Mbarek Ould Beyrouk, originally from Atar, is a journalist, who has written four books and has founded the country’s first ever independent newspaper. He gives an honest portrayal of the Bedouin life and their customs, and has kept the story rooted in Mauritanian ethos. The issues of patriarchy, misogyny, gender based violence, caste based oppression aren’t exclusive to Mauritania. Let’s get off our high horse, shed our condescension and pomposity, and examine the issues closely. They are as much prevalent behind the façades of glitzy high rises and modern lifestyles as they are in the humbling desert.

~ JUST A GAY BOY. 🥹