Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony on the North West coast of Africa. Following the death of Franco and subsequent invasion, the territory has been under occupation. Half of the former nomadic people of Western Sahara live in refugee camps, with 2015 marking their 40th year in exile. Poetry is a cultural tradition in the Western Sahara that goes back millennia. Here the area poets have been interpreted into English by acclaimed UK poet Sam Berkson and local translator Mohamed Labat Sulaiman.
