Sep 21, 2018
Spain’s foreign minister has revealed President Trump recently urged Spain to build a wall across the Sahara desert in Africa to stop the flow of asylum seekers from Africa. Spain—which does not control any land in the Sahara desert—pushed back on the idea. Trump then reportedly said, “The Sahara border can’t be bigger than our border with Mexico.” In fact, the Sahara stretches for about 3,000 miles from Mauritania and occupied Western Sahara on the Atlantic to Sudan in the east. The U.S.-Mexico border is roughly 2,000 miles long. The second-longest wall in the world already exists in Africa. Morocco built a 1,700-mile wall or berm in occupied Western Sahara, dividing Sahrawis who remain under occupation from those who fled into exile. To see Democracy Now’s special documentary, “Four Days in Occupied Western Sahara—A Rare Look Inside Africa’s Last Colony,” click here.
Transition Studies 