The president of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, Astrid Pérez, held a meeting this Thursday with representatives of the Polisario Front and of the Canarian Association of Friendship with the Sahrawi People, who conveyed their concern about the exclusion of the Sahrawi collective from the extraordinary regularization of immigrants. Alisalem Sidi Zein and Alberto Negrín participated in the meeting, who explained that stateless Sahrawis have been left out of the process as their situation is not contemplated in the definitive text of the decree. They assured that while asylum seekers continue within the regularization process, Sahrawis are left out without a clear explanation. In this regard, one of the representatives stated that “it is a way of not angering Morocco. There is no more explanation,” he indicated.
The meeting took place within the framework of the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The representatives highlighted the solidarity of the Canarian people with the Sahara and discussed future activities to be developed jointly with the Canarian Chamber
The President of Parliament listened to their demands and showed interest in the exposed problem, which is aggravated by the administrative difficulties that stateless people face. As they explained, the process to obtain this recognition can be prolonged up to three years, a period during which they cannot access a work permit.
Likewise, the representatives conveyed to Astrid Pérez the harsh situation that the Sahrawi population is experiencing in the camps, marked by precarious living conditions and growing uncertainty.
The meeting served to put on the table the need to advance in solutions that guarantee the rights of this group and respond to a reality that affects numerous people in the Canary Islands.
