Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Spanish Sahara. In 1958, Spanish Sahara became a province of Spain and in 1976, it was
divided between Mauritania and Morocco. Three years later Mauritania withdrew leaving
Morocco in control of the region. However, the real dispute was between the Polisario,
a tribal people who lived there for centuries, and the government of Morocco. After bit-
ter fighting, a referendum was established. Unfairly, Morocco was heavily investing in the
area'sinfrastructure(hencethegreatroadIwason)andforciblyrelocatingpeoplefromthe
north so that when the referendum did take place, the new arrivals would vote in favour of
Morocco.ThePolisariocounteredwithademandthatonlypeoplewholivedintheareafor
aminimumofthreegenerationswereeligibletovote.HenceMINURSOwasformedbythe
UN to resolve the dispute. To compound this standoff, there were reports that the world's
largestundergroundfreshwatersourceliedbeneaththedisputedarea.Inotherwords,Ijust
cycled into a very politically tense area…and there were spies everywhere.
The City of Spies
I visited the Catholic church in the city and asked if I could camp on the grounds.
The rector said that due to the tough police regulations, I couldn't stay but suggested I go
to a hotel down the road. I left the church and quickly found the hotel. I booked for two
nights, took a shower and then returned to the church to attend mass. I arrived early and
joined a group of parishioners that had congregated in front of the main door. Two of these
parishioners were from the UN, a Canadian and a Frenchman. After mass, we resumed our
conversation outside for a while and then parted ways. As I walked back to my hotel, the
two UN delegates drove up behind me and asked me what I was eating for dinner. I told
them that I had some bread and cheese in my room. They then said not to bother and in-
vited me to dinner at their Club Med hotel.
As we walked into the hotel, my hosts pulled me aside and warned me to be careful
of what I said at the dinner table. After they noticed a puzzled look on my face, they ex-
plained that all the waiters were from the Moroccan Secret Intelligence Agency and were
listening for any news regarding the UN mission. They also told me that I had to assume
a new identity. If I was asked who I was, I had to say that I was the air-conditioning tech-
nician. I must admit that I entered the restaurant nervously excited. When we entered the
dining hall, there was already a dozen or so UN delegates at an extended table. I sat at the
endandintroduced'myself'.AtfirstIfeltquiteunnaturalhavingtoassumethisroleandto
pay close attention to everything I said for I was afraid of starting an international incident
(in fact, I did this a few days later). I spoke very little and instead listened to the conversa-
tions at the table and paid close attention to the waiters/agents. They intrigued me. Having
workedinupscalediningroomsinmypast,itseemedobviousthattheyhadlittleexperien-
ce in serving. A good waiter is supposed to be invisible, but since they were paying more
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