Havana, Feb 28 (RHC) With the inauguration of two exhibitions and the traditional tea ceremony, the commemoration of the 47th anniversary of the proclamation of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (ARSD) began on Monday in Cuba.
The Saharawi ambassador in Havana, Omar Bulsan, opened the House of Africa, located in the historic center of Havana, a photographic exhibition that reflects life in the refugee camps, the struggle for self-determination, customs, and socio-cultural brushstrokes of the inhabitants of Western Sahara.
The exhibition also shows the work of Cuban aid workers in the camps and the historical relations of the Saharawi Republic with nations such as Cuba and Venezuela.
The other exhibition consists of a selection of books in Spanish on culture, idiosyncrasy, history, poetry, and other topics related to the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, as well as posters with poetry by national authors.
Meanwhile, the Saharawi students in Cuba showed the attendees the tea ceremony, sacred to them, because it is part of their customs and it is also, according to what they declared to Prensa Latina, the moment when they share and enjoy with their families.
The celebration was attended by the president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), Fernando González, the diplomatic corps accredited on the island, and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On February 26, 1976, Spain abandoned the Sahara and on February 27, 1976, the Polisario Front proclaimed the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, recognized in November 1984 by most of the countries of the then Organization of African Unity, today the African Union, an organization of which it is a full member.
This year, the celebrations take place amid the offensive of the Saharawi troops against the Moroccan occupation forces, who on November 13, 2020, violated the ceasefire by attacking a group of civilian activists who were peacefully demonstrating in the Guergarat (illegal breach) on the border of the Sahara with Mauritania. (Source: Prensa Latina).
