Pray for Western Sahara

The Sahara Desert, filled with shifting sand dunes, rocky plateaus, and spectacular valleys, is a vast and desolate landscape. But to the people of Western Sahara, it is home. The Saharawi people have lived in this desert for hundreds of years. Though life is difficult for many, Western Sahara contains rich phosphate deposits used around the world to make fertilizer. The territory has the world’s longest conveyor belt — 61 miles long — that carries mined minerals across the desert to the sea. The land has been under Moroccan occupation for decades, forcing many Saharawi to live under foreign control or flee to refugee camps. In the desert, a 1,700 mile (2,700 km) earthen wall, heavily mined and barricaded, reminds the Saharawi that Western Sahara remains a disputed territory.

Western Sahara has experienced centuries of foreign rule. Once under Spanish rule, the land is now claimed by Morocco. A promised referendum allowing people to choose between independence and integration with Morocco has never been held. The Polisario Front (composed of Saharawi people) contested Morocco’s occupation for decades and resumed guerrilla warfare in 2020. To defend against these fighters, the Moroccan government built the great sand wall. Years of conflict have caused much suffering and have driven more than 100,000 Saharawi people to Algerian refugee camps since the 1980s.

99.9 percent of the population is Muslim, meaning the Saharawi people have little opportunity to hear the gospel. The small handful of isolated believers can face imprisonment for evangelism. While two Catholic churches still stand from the days of Spanish rule, no other churches are known to exist in the region. However, God is bringing the gospel to Saharawi refugees outside the territory through Christian aid ministries. The JESUS film is accessible to these people, and the New Testament is now available in Western Sahara’s primary language, Hassaniya.