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Algeria - Smarra Refugee Camp
Smarra is one of four refugee camps of the nomadic Saharawi people. More than 100,000 refugees live in camps of small adobe buildings and large canvas tents. Their traditional “vehicle”, the camel, has been almost completely replaced by battered 4x4s that ply one of the most desolate and forbidding landscapes imaginable. This is the “hamanda” - a vast stony waste stretching from horizon to horizon broken only by small ridges, shallow ravines and an occasional stunted tree. Clouds of dust constantly sweep across the desert many times a year. Woman walk around in their bright gauzy wraps and the men in their black “cheeches” - long scarves tied around their heads and across their faces, leaving only a narrow slit for their eyes. They provide protection from the sun, sand, and wind - and have become a symbol of Saharawi resistance to occupation.