The Trunks Of Return

There is only one piece of furniture that my grandmother truly loved and cared for. It was not the gift that her beloved husband gave her as a reminder that despite the dark future, the terminal, political, and social condition of the country, he would always love her. It was not the present that her mother lovingly offered to remind her that whatever happened in her marriage, she would always have a family to support her. This piece of furniture was a big, ugly trunk homemade of metal and wood. I was wondering why my grandmother would have special feelings and unconditional commitment to a piece of metal. I wondered this for a long time before learning the blunt reality. In October 1991, right after the ceasefire agreement between Morocco and the Polisario Front, the United Nations gave the desperate Saharawi families hope for a referendum. They proposed to allow the local population of Western Sahara to vote on whether they declare their independence or integrate with Morocco. Through this referendum the UN promised the families living in the refugees’ camps in South Algeria that they would be able to happily return to their homeland. While the United Nations was working to convince the Moroccan authorities to accept the referendum as a peaceful solution to the bloody war, the Saharawi women were making metal trunks to safely carry their important belongings on their way home. Of course, Morocco refused the referendum and continued to stall it, leaving the UN helpless and the Western Sahara conflict a dead document in the international community files. The disappointment, rejection, and betrayal that every Saharawi woman experienced were the reasons that developed these mixed feelings towards their trunks. Now The Trunks of Return are not simply objects that store our food or valuable substances. They symbolize false hope and they present moments of joy and happiness. They remind every woman in Western Sahara of when she mistakenly believed that she could encounter justice and human compassion in this unmerciful world. Now I understand why my grandmother keeps an object that reminds her of frustrating memories; but she keeps it to remind all of us of our strong commitment to our legitimate rights of freedom and democracy. Despite the unpleasant history of The Trunks of Return, they proudly show our survival as a nation and they beautifully demonstrate that regardless of the brutality we suffered through war, hope is still alive in the hearts of the most forgotten people on earth.