“Wilaya” is a 2012 minimalist drama, directed by Pedro Perez Rosado, that depicts the lives of a few Sahrawi refugee families from the Western Sahara. The film was shown in Hodges Tuesday night as the third installment of Hispanic Film Fest.

Many Americans may be unaware that Arabic culture has directly influenced Spanish culture, language, music and architecture. For example, over 4,000 Spanish words are inspired by Arabic words and phrases.

Additionally, Spain colonized the Western Sahara and maintained power of that “disputed territory” from 1884 to 1975. Afterwards, Morocco and Mauritania gained control over the area and a war broke out but didn’t end until 1991. At that time, the United Nations called for a ceasefire, stating that the Western Sahara could have statehood.

However, the Western Sahara is still not recognized as a country to this day.

The area’s residents are now called the “forgotten refugees” because the United Nations has not placed them on many maps or recognized their people and their camps — which the people run themselves with very little water and vegetation.

“Wilaya” tells the story of these forgotten Sahrawi refugees.

I loved the film mainly because of the actors. They weren’t even experienced actors, and yet they were able to convey strong emotions in their performances.

The movie follows a couple of families that are very close. Teenage Fatimetu is a member of one of those families. At the age of ten, she was sent to Spain; many children are sent there to escape the refugee camps. Her brother Jatri and physically disabled sister Hayati remained behind. 

After living in Spain for 16 years, Fatimetu is more “westernized” in her behavior when she and her siblings finally return to the camps after her mother’s death. She usually goes around without wearing the customary veil, and she works jobs that are typically “man’s work.” She also drives, which is considered a great freedom.

Fatimetu’s older sister admires the fact that she was able to travel and study, as well as fall in love and have children. Her brother, on the other hand, overwhelms Fatimetu by placing their sister Hayati’s care in Fatimetu’s hands, because his wife is pregnant. He also criticizes Fatimetu for working and pretty much says that she won’t ever become a wife or proper woman because she doesn’t follow the traditional roles of a woman.

I liked this film because it did show that women can do everything that men can and that women deserve the same freedoms and rights that men have. Women deserve the opportunity to have more than marriage and kids and housework if they would like to.

Additionally, watching the characters live their lives in these desolate camps was intriguing, even when it was hard to watch, because they truly made the best out of the situation and what little resources they had.

I actually didn’t like Fatimetu. I found that at times she was extremely selfish. I understand that she wasn’t used to the way of living in these camps, but she could’ve been more compassionate to her sister Hayati instead of being hung up over a guy that broke up with her.

At one point, Hayati is without her crutches while hanging laundry. She falls and her sister just sits on her phone and watches as she struggles to get up.

Another time, the two sisters are working together and are off doing deliveries. At one point, Hayati says, “We got another order,” but Fatimetu doesn’t say anything. She honestly looks annoyed that her sister, who can’t really do much but sit in the car, is asking for her help.

It’s as if Fatimetu views herself as better than others because she lived in another country with another family who could afford all these luxuries that she doesn’t have in Africa.

Overall, “Wilaya” was a really good film, especially because it incorporated inexperienced actors. I think that it does the Sahrawi refugees justice by showing audiences that the “forgotten refugees” are people, and they do deserve the right to say so and become a state.

They are doing the best that they can with what they are provided with here and there and with whatever they earn, and deserve the statehood they were promised by the United Nations.