The temperature reaches a scorching 135 F in summer and plunges below freezing in winter. Sandstorms, called siroccos , rip through the refugee camps without warning.
Flash floods wipe out entire tent neighborhoods, destroying everything in their path.
Here, in the southwest corner of Algeria, nearly 200,000 refugees are struggling to survive in this inhospitable part of the great Sahara Desert. Their struggle began more than two decades ago in their homeland of Western Sahara. Situated along the Atlantic coast of northwest Africa between Morocco to the north, Mauritania to the south, and Algeria to the east, Western Sahara was a Spanish colony for over one century. Then, in secret negotiations, Spain signed a clandestine deal with Morocco and Mauritania. The three countries agreed to split the territory of Western Sahara between Morocco and Mauritania, instead of granting independence to the Saharawis as promised.