01/08/2004
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On January 7, 2003, Abderrahim and Bahia - two Moroccans - got married.
There would be nothing extraordinary, but their story isn't a common
one, given that they've been fiancees for some 24 years, possibly a
world record. It isn't an eccentric choice, but a story of war that, as
always, has marked their life.
Abderrahim is a Moroccan man like many others. In 1979 he officially introduced himself to the family of his girlfriend, the beautiful Bahia. The relatives agreed, and all seemed ready for the wedding. Things wouldn't go their way.
Colonialism was dead and Spain had abandoned the Western Sahara. In 1975, Morocco took it over, claiming an ancient right to control those lands. The peoples living in the Western Sahara, the Sarahawis, didn't want to lose the long-awaited autonomy, and organized themselves in an armed opposition militia known as Polisario Front. The war was very tough, with thousands of dead and prisoners.
In 1979, Abderrahim was called to do his duty to the Moroccan kingdom. His life could wait. The wedding with Bahia was put off, and the young man left for the front. After some months, the Polisario militias captured him. Only after six years of imprisonment was he able to tell his family he was still alive, when observers from the International Red Cross managed to visit Moroccan prisoners of war detained by the Sarahawis in Tindouf (Algeria), where they took refuge and created an immense tent city.
International observers delivered the letter to Bahia, who had been waiting for years to receive news from the man she wanted to marry. She would have like to answer immediately, but she couldn't read nor write. She learnt to do it only for love of Abderrahim. Their correspondence would last throughout the whole detention of her boyfriend.
At the end of October 2003, thanks to the mediation of Libyan leader Gaddafi, the Polisario Front released 300 Moroccan prisoners. There was also Abderrahim among them. "I've always been convinced that Bahia would have waited for me, I've trusted her blindly since the first time I saw her", the man told the Moroccan 2M television, which recounted their story. "I felt as if he had left for a long trip, and I knew he would come back one day", Bahia said.
There are still many prisoners of war captured during the conflict between Morocco and the Saharawis, and some of them have been detained for 28 years. They are waiting for their governments to agree and sign a peace deal, which despite international mediations hasn't been reached since the 1991 ceasefire. Many Abderrahims and Bahias keep on hoping.
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After 24 years, a Moroccan prisoner of war finds freedom and love again
On January 7, 2003, Abderrahim and Bahia - two Moroccans - got married.
There would be nothing extraordinary, but their story isn't a common
one, given that they've been fiancees for some 24 years, possibly a
world record. It isn't an eccentric choice, but a story of war that, as
always, has marked their life.
Abderrahim is a Moroccan man like many others. In 1979 he officially introduced himself to the family of his girlfriend, the beautiful Bahia. The relatives agreed, and all seemed ready for the wedding. Things wouldn't go their way.
Colonialism was dead and Spain had abandoned the Western Sahara. In 1975, Morocco took it over, claiming an ancient right to control those lands. The peoples living in the Western Sahara, the Sarahawis, didn't want to lose the long-awaited autonomy, and organized themselves in an armed opposition militia known as Polisario Front. The war was very tough, with thousands of dead and prisoners.
In 1979, Abderrahim was called to do his duty to the Moroccan kingdom. His life could wait. The wedding with Bahia was put off, and the young man left for the front. After some months, the Polisario militias captured him. Only after six years of imprisonment was he able to tell his family he was still alive, when observers from the International Red Cross managed to visit Moroccan prisoners of war detained by the Sarahawis in Tindouf (Algeria), where they took refuge and created an immense tent city.
International observers delivered the letter to Bahia, who had been waiting for years to receive news from the man she wanted to marry. She would have like to answer immediately, but she couldn't read nor write. She learnt to do it only for love of Abderrahim. Their correspondence would last throughout the whole detention of her boyfriend.
At the end of October 2003, thanks to the mediation of Libyan leader Gaddafi, the Polisario Front released 300 Moroccan prisoners. There was also Abderrahim among them. "I've always been convinced that Bahia would have waited for me, I've trusted her blindly since the first time I saw her", the man told the Moroccan 2M television, which recounted their story. "I felt as if he had left for a long trip, and I knew he would come back one day", Bahia said.
There are still many prisoners of war captured during the conflict between Morocco and the Saharawis, and some of them have been detained for 28 years. They are waiting for their governments to agree and sign a peace deal, which despite international mediations hasn't been reached since the 1991 ceasefire. Many Abderrahims and Bahias keep on hoping.
Christian Elia
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