Me & My Sahara

Me and My Sahara

by Wanda Hebly

This booklet was created, written and illustrated by Wanda Hebly and is distributed by the Sahara-Roots Foundation in The Netherlands.

The Sahara-Roots foundation has been founded to help preserve the Moroccan Sahara and provide a better future for its inhabitants. The proceeds of this booklet help to provide funds for this purpose.

This booklet was presented, in June 2007, to the Zaila Foundation during its annual ‘clean-up’ initiative in the desert of MHamid in Southern Morocco.

In cooperation with the Zaila Foundation, an initiative of the Sbaï family and others from the area of MHamid, Sahara Roots will provide this booklet to young school children in the MHamid area, as a tool for education.

For more information, please visit the foundation’s website: www.sahara-roots.nl

Copyright 2007 Wanda Hebly | Desertwalk | The Netherlands

ISBN 978 90 8120 681 5

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without

Printed by Grafisch Bedrijf Tuijtel B.V.

the prior permission of the author

First Edition | November 2007

Me and My Sahara

By Wanda Hebly

“Children are the future. Education is essential in creating awareness of the world in which our children live. With this booklet I hope to ‘sow seeds’ in the minds of the young children living in the Sahara and open their eyes to the importance of preserving their beautiful but fragile environment.”

Once upon a time there was a beautiful oasis in the middle of the Sahara.

A lot of palm trees, tamarisks and acacias grew there, giving shade for the people and animals that lived there.

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There was a lot of water, provided by the river and the underground wells.

The people worked their fields, growing the food that they needed for themselves and their animals.

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The oasis had been found by an old Nomad from far across the Sahara many, many years ago.

In search of a beautiful place to live, he travelled many moons across the desert sands.

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He found this beautiful oasis and decided that this was the best place he had seen during his long, long journey.

He built his Kasbah-house using the earth that he found along the river banks.

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He rode his favourite Camel in the sand dunes.

In the evenings he told stories of the long caravan journeys.

He made music, danced and sang.

He was happy...

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Times changed.

The oasis had been a place of peace and beauty.

But now there was so much rubbish.

All the plants and trees suffered.

The acacias had collected many black plastic bags because of their prickly branches.

Everywhere lay empty plastic water bottles, cola cans and all kinds of other rubbish.

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The Nomad looked at his oasis and was sad to see all that rubbish.

He said to his favourite Camel: “I am going to look for a better place to live�

Leaving his favourite Camel behind in the dirty oasis.

He went to the city in search of a better place to live.

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From city to city he walked in search of a new oasis.

But in the city there were no palm trees.

There were no sand dunes, no acacias, no camels, just concrete buildings.

And so he kept on searching.

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All of a sudden, after many moons, in the distance, he saw beautiful sand dunes rising before him.

There were many palm trees to give him shelter against the hot sun.

Flowers and grasses were growing in the shade of the trees.

He kept on walking.

Before him he saw a beautiful kasbah.

“This is where I want to stay,“ said the Nomad “This is where I want to make my new home.

I will stay here!”

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As he walked into the oasis, he saw camels standing in the shade of the palm trees.

“I want to make this my new home” he said to a Camel, “this oasis is such a beautiful place, just like paradise...”

The Camel looked at the Nomad: “Don’t you recognise where you are?” the Camel asked.

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The man looked around.

There was something familiar about this place.

Slowly the Nomad started to remember....

This was his favourite Camel, the Camel he had left behind many months ago.

“This is my old home!” the Nomad shouted, “only now it looks like a paradise.

What happened here?

This is exactly what I have been searching for all those months.

I want to stay here!”

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“Stay here? Your home?” asked the Camel.

“This is my place!” yelled the Nomad “Rubbish!” said the Camel.

“Together with the other camels, we cleaned the oasis, we picked up all the plastic bottles and cola cans.”

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We climbed in the trees and took out the plastic bags.

We repaired the kasbah with mud from the river.

We watered the fields.

After the picking up of all the rubbish there was life in the trees again, flowers started blooming, the grass grew back, the animals and birds came back.” explained the Camel.

“You cannot just take it back!”

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“Can’t I have just a small part of the oasis?” asked the Nomad, “a sand dune or a palm tree?”

The Camel looked at the Nomad and felt sorry for him.

“If you are willing to take care of this oasis, you may return and live side by side with us” said the Camel.

And so the Nomad returned to live side by side with the camels and all the other animals and birds.

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And so the Nomad helped the Camel to take care of the oasis.

The Nomad taught his children, and his children’s children, how to keep the oasis clean and healthy for all of them and for many generations to come.

In this way, it will remain a paradise for all to enjoy for ever..!

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Too much time is needed to break down plastic, metal and glass.

In the desert climate of the Sahara, it is even worse.

To give you an idea: cigarettes: 2 years metal: 100 years plastic: 1000 years glass: 4000 years The Sahara is a beautiful but fragile environment.

Please, let us protect the desert by keeping it clean!

4000 years 31

1000 years

100 years

2 years

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Authors note / “sowing the seeds” While meeting the Sbaï family in January 2003 during a trip to the south of Morocco, I became impressed by their dedication towards the people and the environment of MHamid. During the years thereafter I learned more about the history, culture and the nature of this environment and its people.

Listening to the stories told by Ibrahim and Halim Sbaï about the long camel treks of their ancestors travelling between Mali, Mauritania and Morocco, made me realise that once again a way of life is disappearing. The Sbaï family is also involved in helping to preserve their heritage as well as working on the development of this area in a sustainable manner, by trying to find the balance between the beautiful but threatened Sahara and the influences of the “modern” world today.

Many thanks to Liseke Hoogerbrugge, Amsterdam, for the inspirational trip we made together in the south of Morocco; Halim and Ibrahim Sbaï, in MHamid, for sharing “their” Sahara with me; Ima Bakal for the Arabic translation; Mariette Ruys for the Dutch translation; Jeanne Wits and Mariette Ruys for the French translation; My children Wendelien, Laurens and Richard for the graphic design of this booklet and for helping to set up the Sahara-Roots Foundation; My husband Adriaan for believing in me...