In a windswept desert encampment in Algeria, Sahrawi refugees are separated from their homeland by a short distance and a border, but many say their half-century-long struggle for independence has not weakened.
The former Spanish colony of Western Sahara, a vast territory rich in minerals, is largely controlled by Morocco, but has been claimed for decades by the Polisario Front – an independence group backed by Rabat's regional enemy, Algiers.
In Tindouf, where the United Nations estimates that more than 170,000 Sahrawi refugees live in five main camps, many continue to firmly believe in the dream of self-determination, despite the widespread international support enjoyed by the Moroccan sovereignty plan.
At the Aousserd camp, 81-year-old Habiba Bent Ali Elouadjem said she dreamed of returning to her "homeland".
"Every people has the right to live on their land," she told AFP.
Morocco maintains that Western Sahara is an integral part of the kingdom and proposes a plan in which it would become an autonomous Moroccan territory.
But the Polisario Front has long been demanding a referendum on self-determination, which Rabat opposes.
Last October, with the support of the Trump administration, the United Nations Security Council voted in favor of Morocco's plan, calling it "the most viable solution".
The United States had already recognized Morocco's sovereignty over this territory in 2020, a few days after the normalization of relations between Rabat and Israel under an agreement supported by President Donald Trump during his first term.
American and Spanish media reported that officials from Morocco, Polisario, Algeria and Mauritania had already taken part in two rounds of secret talks in Spain last February, adding that the negotiations focused mainly on Morocco's autonomy proposal.
"We will never give up"
Further discussions on the conflict are to be held behind closed doors at the Security Council on Thursday.
But far from New York, Morocco's autonomy plan is generating little interest among Sahrawi refugees, many of whom have been displaced in waves since Moroccan forces entered Western Sahara in 1976.
In Aousserd, children run among the modest dwellings of the camp, battered by the sun and the sands of the Sahara. Some chanted: "No to the autonomy plan" – a common refrain among the Sahrawis.
Many have recently gathered to mark the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic by the Polisario.
“We will never back down,” said Hadjeb Bent Sid Ahmed Ouled Hamma, 76. “We will never give up the independence of our country.”
Abdelhadi El-Goueiri, a 29-year-old mining engineer, said he pursued his studies "to follow in the footsteps of our fathers in the struggle for total independence and to free ourselves from colonialism."
Life in the camps is heavily dependent on humanitarian aid, with refugees often facing shortages of food and water.
Many here express their gratitude to Algeria for its support – whether it be food, school textbooks or medicine – but say their aspirations lie on the other side of the border.
"If we can talk about international law, then we must recognize that there is a people here and decades of struggle for a just cause," said Fatema Bent Khattery Sidi Abedi, a 56-year-old teacher.
She lamented the hardships endured in the camps, particularly the long sandstorms during which "everything disappears under the dust" for days.
"Inalienable right"
Under neighboring canvas tents, women spin wool while others grind seeds using traditional stone mills.
In another tent, children recite verses from the Quran, reading in unison from the chipped wooden tablets on which they have transcribed them.
A little further on, a wedding is in full swing, with music and dancing.
But even after decades in exile, refugees cling to "an inalienable right to self-determination," said Ouali Ahmed Sidi Moulai, a 55-year-old trader, who called the conflict "a decolonization issue."
Many countries, including France, the United Kingdom and Spain, have recognized Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara.
But the territory is still on the UN list of non-self-governing territories, while the Polisario continues to demand a UN referendum on self-determination, which was promised as part of a 1991 ceasefire but never took place.
The Sahrawis, for their part, remain determined.
"We will not accept the autonomy plan (of Morocco) under any circumstances... whatever the necessary sacrifices and despite the pressure from the international community," said Salima Bent Elghifri Ahmed, 75.
