Posted on November 6, 2017
Today is the anniversary of what some call the largest, longest, and most peaceful protest march in history!
The place: Morocco.
The time: November 6, 1975.
The issue: Ownership of a bit of land called Western Sahara (or Spanish Sahara, because Spain then occupied the region).
The Moroccan king announced the march, asking his people to go to the disputed territory to "liberate" it.
About 350,000 people responded to the king's request, amassing on the border and then walking several kilometers into Spanish Sahara, escorted by 20,000 Moroccan troops.
Even though the march itself was almost entirely peaceful, and even though the goal was reached when, less than two weeks after the march began, Spain signed an agreement to transfer administration of the region to Morocco - still, the peaceful march and the withdrawal of Spain led to a looooong war between Morocco, nearby Mauritania, and the Sahrawi people who lived in the Western Sahara region. The war lasted more than a decade, and some estimate that 10 to 20 thousand people died in the war!
Western Sahara is still disputed territory, even though a ceasefire has been in place since 1991. Since the ceasefire, Morocco has been ruling two-thirds of the disputed land, apparently backed by France and the U.S., and the rest of the territory has been ruled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which is backed by Algeria.
Despite the messy complexities of the actual history, Moroccans proudly celebrate the Green March every year.
Here are some of the amazing beauties and wonders of Western Sahara:
And here are some of interesting sights you might see once you get to the gateway to Western Sahara:
Also on this date:
Constitution Day in the Dominican Republic
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