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HUMAN RIGHTS
STAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI HUMAN RIGHTS
Human Rights and Western Policy In the Middle East
plores the notions of place, identity, the environment, youth culture and politics, provide an in-depth, intimate and dynamic lens from which to see the Middle East, which is so refreshing.”
Sahraoui discussed his photographic series on display titled “Stadiumphilia,” featuring black and white images of enthusiastic young Algerian soccer fans.
“Starting in 2015, my idea was to follow a group of youngsters who define themselves as ‘ultra,’ which are a group of people fanatic about soccer,” Sahraoui explained. Being under 18, the group was too young to legally enter the stadium. But they did everything they could to get in, not just to support the local team, but because for them the stadium represents a platform to voice their thoughts and feelings, he said.
Sahraoui took the photos with an iPhone, he explained, because it’s a tool he is comfortable with, plus inside the stadium police and security are suspicious of photographers with professional cameras.
Four years after beginning this photographic project, the popular uprising in Algeria began, which Sahraoui called a continuation of what was happening in the stadium. “The youngsters that I was documenting in the stadium were the protagonists of this movement and were leading the frontline of the crowds that were protesting in the street,” he stated. “With my camera, it was my way of protesting with them.”
Two years ago, Djamil began her photo series “80 Miles to Atlantis,” which captures the city of Tarfaya, located in southern Morocco. Obsessed by the small coastal city, she traveled there many times over the past ten years, documenting its landscape, ruins and dramatic coastline. “I have always questioned my relationship to the city because it’s in Sahara,” she conceded. “I just listen to what the place has to say.”
Ethnically and linguistically, the people of Tarfaya are primarily Sahrawi (the native people of Western Sahara). Many people in the area support the Polisario (the exiled government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) and would like to become part of an independent Western Sahara. However, Spain ceded the area to Morocco in 1958, two years after Morocco’s independence. So, unlike Western Sahara, it is legally recognized as part of Morocco and is not claimed by the Polisario. —Elaine Pasquini
The role of human rights in U.S. Middle East policy was discussed at length throughout the first day of the Arab Center Washington DC’s Oct. 12-13 annual conference.
Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, told the virtual audience that there is a “human rights black hole when it comes to Western policy” in the region. While leaders in Washington and Europe often espouse virtuous sentiments about human dignity, he noted that they often look the other way when countries such as Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia
MANDEL NGAN/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
(L‐r) Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el‐Sisi, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, U.S. President Joe Biden, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Kuwait’s Crown Prince Meshal Al‐Ahmad Al‐Jaber Al‐Sabah pose for a photo during the Jeddah Security and Development Summit in Saudi Arabia, on July 16, 2022.
