On April 15th I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Pedro Pinto Leite and Cynthia Basinet about the plight of Western Sahara. Pedro Pinto Leite is a Portuguese international jurist based in Holland and the coordinator of the Dutch section of the International Association of Jurists for Western Sahara. Together with Cynthia Basinet an activist, actress, singer, and a Nobel Peace prize nominee we discussed the history and the current situation of Western Sahara. A former colony of Spain, Western Sahara, also know as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, is fighting for a referendum so they can become independent from Morocco. We as students can help Free Western Sahara by joining the Facebook Cause Free Western Sahara and by contacting our representatives and pressing them to support their colleagues Donald M. Payne and Joseph R. Pitts by signing the letter they have written urging President Obama to support the Sahrawi peoples right to self-determination. We will soon have the privilege to talk with Pedro and Cynthia again and discuss in further detail what we as a community can do to help those fighting for independence and living in refugee camps.
~Posted by GRE Team Member Angie Moore
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