Joy, Music and Connection with Saharawi Refugees

Play for Progress music team and young people making music with Saharawi Refugees

In partnership with Sandblast Arts, PFP welcomed a group of Saharawi children to one of our community music evenings. Our Head of Organisational Health has worked with Sandblast and the Saharawi Refugee Community since 2010, and this collaboration was full of joy, music and connection.

The Saharawi children, known as the ‘Messengers of Peace’, come from the Saharawi refugee camps in southwest Algeria, where tens of thousands of Saharawis have lived in forced exile for over five decades. According to the United Nations, the Saharawi refugee population is one of the longest-standing protracted refugee situations in the world, a stark reminder of the international community’s failure to uphold their fundamental right to self-determination.

Despite the harsh conditions of exile, the Saharawi people have demonstrated extraordinary resilience. They are often referred to as “the most organised refugees in the world,” a testament to their dignity, discipline, and collective commitment to justice.

PFP have exhibited work from the Saharawi community in partnership with Emma Brown and Olive Branch Arts in the past to raise awareness about the Saharawi plight. We look forward to collaborating with Sandblast and this incredibly inspiring community again in the future, building relationships through creative expression, love and solidarity.