Dakhla (refugee camps), May 2, 2014 (SPS) - The U.S. filmmaker David Riker, editor and writter of Dirty War Documentary, has noted that everyone of the Saharawi people he spoke with, from the grandparents to the children, share “a common dream” for the independence for their land, expressing commitment to tell people in the U.S. about the plight of Saharawi people.
In an interview with SPS, the U.S. filmmaker applauded “the very special hospitality” he received in the Saharawi refugee camps and dignity of the people, pointing out to the “extraordinary strength” of the Saharawi people.
Visiting the Saharawi people for the first time to teach a workshop and show a movie called the Dirty Wars, Riker underlined that he is full of respect for what he is learning form the Saharawi people.
“It’s a very special place, I feel honored to be here, the family that I’m staying has made me feel at home, I’m very close in two days to my family,” said David Riker noting his impression about his visit to the camps.
By giving a class on story-telling, said David Riker, we´re helping in a small way for the Saharawi refugees to know the skills to tell their story.
Given that many in the U.S.A. do not know much about the Saharawi plight, he went on saying that his responsibility as an American is to tell people in the US about the Saharawi people and to write about it when he get back to his country.
He, in this respect, added that the attention of the U.S. people was given during the 1990s to the Central American wars, including for example that of El Salvador and Nicaragua, while they did not hear about the Polisario Front.
Stressing the need to let people know the story of the Saharawi people, Dirty Wars´ Director indicated that any people, including the Saharawis, must be given a chance to tell their own story in their own language and from their own cultural perspectives, not because it is fun, but because it is essential.
On other hand, the U.S. filmmaker described as a “bridge” from outside into the Saharawi refugee camps the International Film Festival in Western Sahara (FiSahara), now celebrates its 11th edition.
Given that cinema is very complicated art, because it needs technical training, resources and tradition of learning, he hoped that the Saharawi people can make a beautiful cinema, noting that it is possible to make a world cinema from the Saharawi people.
“It is like planting a tree, you need time,” said David Riker, pointing out that FiSahara has been planting the seeds and watering it.
“I live in a country in the US where don´t know who we are, we don´t know where we come from. The Saharawi people know where they come from, they know their land, their language, their culture,” underlined David Riker.
David Riker, cinema director and writer, takes part at the 11th edition of the FiSahara with his documentary “Dirty Wars”, which is a story of a journalist investigating the U.S. war on terror.
