Taiwan donates to Western Saharan refugees
The government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) on Tuesday donated US$100,000 in humanitarian aid to Western Saharan
refugees in North Africa.
The campaign was co-initiated by European Parliament members Ivo Vajgl and Pino Arlacchi, who are working with the
Spanish non-governmental organization Mundubat to reduce malnutrition among the refugees.
Catherine Libert, humanitarian aid desk officer for Libya, Algeria and Iraq for the European Commission, described
Taiwan's action as encouraging, especially at a time when some European nations are reducing their donations to African
refugees due to the European financial crisis.
Mohamed Sidati, the European representative of the Sahrawi national liberation movement, the Polisario Front, expressed
his appreciation to the people of Taiwan for their assistance.
Further, Taiwan's representative to the European Union, Tung Kuo-yu, said his country is always ready to reach out to
those in need.
As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan cannot sit idly by as Western Sahara refugees suffer from
hunger and poverty, he said.
Algeria has been hosting Western Saharan refugees fleeing from Moroccan forces since the Western Sahara War in 1975.
Today, most of the territory of Western Sahara is under Moroccan control, while the inland areas are governed by the
Polisario Front-led Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which maintains a government-in-exile in Tinduof, Algeria.
The refugees have to rely on international humanitarian assistance for their survival, with a high percentage of
children and women suffering from malnutrition and anemia, according to data from the United Nations High Commission for
Refugees.
ENDS