On November 14, 2009, Lanzarote Airport became the scene of an event that transcended the island's borders. That day, Aminetu Haidar, a Sahrawi human rights activist, arrived in Guacimeta after being expelled from El Aaiún by Moroccan authorities. Her presence at the terminal was not due to a voluntary trip or a planned stay: she had been transferred against her will and her sole purpose was to return to her home, where she lived with her children and the rest of her family.
The day before, while returning from the United States, where she had received the 2009 Civil Courage Prize awarded by the Train Foundation, Moroccan authorities had prevented her from entering El Aaiún. The conflict began after she refused to declare Morocco as her nationality on the entry form. She was detained, her passport was confiscated, and she was finally expelled to Spain.
From her arrival in Lanzarote, Haidar made it clear that she did not intend to stay on the island nor was she seeking a residency solution. She demanded to return to her homeland and regain the conditions that would allow her to reunite with her family. Guacimeta thus became the place from which she made her demand visible.
On November 16, she began a hunger strike that would last for 32 days. From then on, the terminal ceased to be solely a transit space and became a meeting point for social representatives, citizens, journalists, and activists who came to inquire about her situation and show their support. What had begun as an administrative and diplomatic conflict acquired a human and collective dimension in Lanzarote.
Solidarity began to organize on the island itself
The social response began to take shape from the first days. The Sahrawi community residing in Lanzarote played a fundamental role, both in accompanying Haidar and in organizing various initiatives. For many of these people, what was happening was not a distant event, but a situation closely linked to their own family history and the reality of Western Sahara.
Citizens, social groups, union representatives, and members of various organizations gathered around the activist. Little by little, a collaborative dynamic was established that allowed for the coordination of accompaniment shifts, attending to the needs of those staying at Guacimeta, and bringing the protest to other spaces on the island.
The César Manrique Foundation also became involved from the beginning. On November 18, its president, José Juan Ramírez, and the Director of Activities, Fernando Gómez Aguilera, visited Haidar at the airport. The institution also conveyed a request to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, for the necessary steps to be taken to facilitate her return to El Aaiún.
The Foundation's intervention was particularly relevant on an island where César Manrique's legacy and the institution's cultural and social commitment have been linked to the defense of collective causes. Its participation helped the case gain support beyond media attention, also securing the backing of a benchmark entity in Lanzarote.
Hundreds of people gather in front of the Cabildo
One of the most significant moments of those weeks occurred on November 21. Hundreds of people gathered in front of the old headquarters of the Cabildo de Lanzarote to demand a solution that would allow Aminetu Haidar to return to her home.
The turnout reflected the impact the case had achieved in just a few days. Estimates released at the time placed participation at around 300 people, according to the Police, and nearly 400, according to the organizers. Although the figures differed, both evidenced a considerable citizen response.
During the event, actor Guillermo Toledo read a manifesto in support of the activist. The president of the Cabildo, Pedro San Ginés, representatives from UGT and Comisiones Obreras, as well as members of various social and political organizations, also attended.
The gathering moved the protest to the center of Arrecife, which until then had primarily taken place at Guacimeta. The participation of people from different sectors of island society confirmed that Haidar's situation was no longer an issue confined to the airport but had become a concern shared by many Lanzaroteños.
Eleven Sahrawi women join the hunger strike
On November 25, coinciding with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, eleven Sahrawi women residing in Lanzarote staged a new action in support of Aminetu Haidar. They went to the airport to accompany her and publicly express their rejection of the situation she was going through.
Their participation brought a particularly significant dimension to those days. Beyond supporting a political demand, it represented the personal commitment of women who, from their own experience and their connection to Western Sahara, decided to become directly involved in a protest that had already been ongoing for more than a week.
The initiative coincided with the setting up of a signature collection point at the international terminal. The response from travelers and people who approached Guacimeta made it possible to gather thousands of signatures. Reports published at the time placed the number of signatures collected at around 3,000.
The presence of these eleven women reflected the active role of the Sahrawi community in Lanzarote. Their intervention helped to keep the focus on Haidar and showed that, behind the international repercussions of the case, there was a network of people willing to sustain the demand through proximity and daily commitment.
Guacimeta becomes a solidarity camp
As the days went by, the airport surroundings took on an unusual appearance. In an office area near the bus parking lot, an improvised camp was organized from which support activities for Haidar were coordinated.
Tables, chairs, and computers were set up, as well as blankets and sleeping bags for those who spent long hours or stayed overnight. Operations were organized through shifts and tasks distributed among people who came from different parts of Spain and residents of Lanzarote who collaborated continuously.
Chronicles from those days described the presence of around fifty people linked to the camp, although not all of them remained there permanently. Volunteers arrived from Seville, Madrid, the Basque Country, and Gran Canaria, among other places. The island's Sahrawi community, for its part, took on an essential part of the logistics and daily maintenance of that infrastructure.
The work was distributed in different areas: communication, legal advice, institutional relations, and assistance to those who came to the airport. Basic needs such as food, accommodation, rest, and the supply of materials also had to be resolved. Neighbors and collaborators from Lanzarote provided food, places to sleep, and resources so that the activity could continue.
Coexistence was not without difficulties. Rain, lack of space, and the limitations inherent to an airport enclosure forced the reorganization of some tasks. Disagreements also arose with airport workers over the occupation of areas usually used by staff. Despite these inconveniences, the camp continued to function and became the main coordination center for an initiative that had already far exceeded the island's scope.
More than a temporary facility, that space represented the effort of many people who adapted their schedules and put their own resources at the service of a common cause. Their objective was that Haidar would not have to face a situation alone that was dragging on and beginning to have consequences on her physical state.
José Saramago and other names who visited Guacimeta
The repercussions of the case also attracted personalities from the world of culture, politics, and activism to Lanzarote. One of the most notable visits was that of José Saramago, who went to the airport on December 1st to express his support for Haidar.
The Portuguese writer, a resident of Lanzarote since 1993 with Pilar del Río, knew the island and its social reality well. His presence had a special symbolic weight: it was not a protocol visit, but a gesture of solidarity towards a woman who had already been on a hunger strike for two weeks and whose situation had acquired a notable international dimension.
Saramago expressed his concern about the case and demanded that the United Nations resolutions regarding Western Sahara be complied with. His intervention helped to maintain public attention on the activist's situation and to remember the human dimension of a conflict that continued without finding a resolution.
Other people linked to the cultural sphere and the defense of human rights also attended Guacimeta. Among them were actor Willy Toledo, journalist Edi Escobar, engineer Fernando Peraita, politician Carmelo Ramírez, and lawyer Inés Miranda, in addition to
Javier Corcuera, director of the Sahara International Film Festival
Their visits and participation in various tasks broadened the impact of the protest. However, alongside these well-known names, there was a less visible but constant presence: that of Sahrawi residents, neighbors, volunteers, and citizens who maintained daily support without seeking public prominence.
A protest that also had repercussions in the daily life of the airport
Haidar's stay at Guacimeta disrupted the terminal's usual activity for weeks. A space designed for passenger transit became the setting for gatherings, information dissemination, and the continuous presence of people who came to accompany the activist.
On the night of November 15, when the terminal's operational closure occurred, Haidar initially refused to leave. The incident ended with the intervention of airport authorities and a complaint from Aena. Subsequently, Court of Instruction number 8 of Arrecife imposed a fine of 180 euros on her for an offense against public order. The activist eventually voluntarily left the interior of the facilities.
The incident highlighted the difficulties posed by a prolonged protest in a public infrastructure subject to its own operating rules. It also revealed the tension between Haidar's desire to remain in the place from which she demanded her return and the airport's security and organizational requirements.
Meanwhile, political and diplomatic efforts continued without offering an immediate solution. On December 4, an attempt was made to organize a first transfer to El Aaiún in a medicalized plane, but the operation could not be completed because Morocco did not authorize landing.
The failure of that attempt prolonged the uncertainty. In Lanzarote, those who remained with Haidar maintained their shifts and support tasks, while the activist's physical deterioration made finding a solution increasingly urgent.
The island accompanied her until the last moment
The outcome arrived on December 17, 2009, after 32 days of hunger strike. Aminetu Haidar voluntarily entered a hospital in Lanzarote to receive medical attention and was subsequently transferred to the airport in a medically equipped ambulance.
More than 300 people gathered at Guacimeta to bid her farewell before her return. The presence of citizens, members of the Sahrawi community, volunteers, and representatives of various groups reflected the bond that had been forged during those weeks between the activist and a significant portion of Lanzarote's society.
The plane took off at 10:23 PM, according to information published by Europa Press, bound for El Aaiún. Haidar was accompanied by her sister Laila and by doctor Domingo de Guzmán. The operation took place after the necessary documentary conditions for her return were facilitated and the corresponding authorization was obtained.
That night she was able to reunite with her family again. The hunger strike came to an end, and Guacimeta ceased to be the scene of a protest that had held international attention for over a month.
For those who had participated in that experience, however, the outcome did not erase what had been lived. The memory of the shifts, meetings, rallies, and efforts remained, as did the commitment of those who had contributed to sustaining the initiative from the first day. Lanzarote had transformed, during those weeks, an everyday transit space into a place of collective encounter and commitment.
The protagonists Lanzarote should not forget
Aminetu Haidar's story is often remembered for its diplomatic dimension, for the hunger strike, and for the international repercussions the conflict achieved. However, in Lanzarote, it also had its own story: that of the people who made it possible for that protest not to unfold in solitude.
The Sahrawi community residing on the island was among its main protagonists. The eleven women who participated in the support action, those who organized the petition drive, the volunteers who set up the camp, and the people who provided food, accommodation, and materials were part of a collective response that lasted for over a month.
Anonymous citizens, representatives of social and trade union organizations, institutions, professionals, and personalities joined them, arriving at Guacimeta to show their support. Each contributed within their means to keep the focus on a situation that directly affected a woman's life and her right to return home.
For 32 days, Lanzarote airport was much more than the scene of an international crisis. It became a space for coexistence and organization, where people from different backgrounds shared a cause and sustained a mobilization that left its mark on the island's recent memory.
On December 17, when the plane carrying Aminetu Haidar took off for El Aaiún, one of the most unique protests experienced in Lanzarote concluded. But its memory should not be limited to the outcome or the names that gained public notoriety. The memory of those who were there every day, of those who helped without seeking recognition, and of an island society that turned Guacimeta into a space of solidarity also deserves to be preserved.
DOCUMENTARY SOURCES
• César Manrique Foundation. Report of activities for 2009. Section dedicated to the institution's support for Aminatou Haidar during her hunger strike at Lanzarote airport.
• La Voz de Lanzarote. "I will continue my hunger strike until the Spanish government returns me to my land. If not, I will continue until death." November 16, 2009.
• La Voz de Lanzarote. "Aminatou Haidar is wasting away." December 12, 2009.
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