Flights Above the Fray: The Experiences and Uncertain Future of UNHCR’s Family Visit Program for Sahrawi Refugees

Between 2004 and 2014, UNHCR’s Confidence Building Measures (CBM) program helped more than 20,000 refugees in the Tindouf desert camps of Algeria to visit their families in Western Sahara, from whom they’d been separated since the conflict in Western Sahara began (late 1970s). The CBM program was brought to a halt by politics, but the report suggests that the time is right for this ‘humanitarian bridge’ to be re-opened.

This report gives a human perspective of the experiences and personal impact that CBM’s family visit flights program had on Sahrawi refugees and their families.