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Spanish woman kidnapped by her Saharan biological family 'forced into arranged marriage'
05/03/2017
A SAHARAN woman adopted by a Spanish family was due to be married by her biological parents today (Saturday) to 'oppress her completely' and 'take away her free will', according to the Sevilla couple, who fear for the 23-year-old's welfare.
Maloma Morales de Matos, who has Spanish nationality but was born in Tindouf, part of the disputed Western Sahara territory and geographically part of Algeria, has been held hostage by her family of origin since December 2015 and unable to return to what has been her home since she was 12 years old in Mairena de Aljarafe (Sevilla province).
She had spent every summer with Pepe Morales and Carmen de Matos from the age of seven as part of the Holidays in Peace programme, whereby Sahara refugee camp children who make a concerted effort at school are rewarded with a three-month stay at a foster home in Spain between mid-June and mid-September, and their summer parents get the chance to visit them in the autumn at their camp in Tindouf.
At age 12, the two families agreed Maloma could remain living permanently with Pepe and Carmen, although they had to wait until she was 19 – the age of majority in Algeria - before she was able to legally agree to be adopted by them.
For 10 years, Maloma had been in weekly contact with her family of origin, but December 2015 was the first time she had travelled back to see them, and she has never returned.
She was accompanied by her husband Ismael and her father Pepe, and they say they heard her screaming for her dad's help just as they were leaving.
Maloma has spoken to her Spanish family several times since and assured them she is not in danger and wants 'a solution between both' sets of parents, but has told a UN High Commissioner that she wants to go back to her life in Spain.
Ismael, a Spaniard who married Maloma when she was 21, is so desperate to get his wife back safely that he has publicly announced he will convert to Islam if it means her family of origin will agree to her returning to him.
But the latest news is that Maloma's family of origin has forced her into an arranged marriage, with the wedding being held all this weekend in the village of Smara.
“Maloma is not free,” Pepe announced.
“She is not getting married, she is being married, and that makes a big difference.
“They promised they would let her return before December 2016, but that beforehand they would 'need to take steps to save the honour and reputation' of the tribe's family.
“Maloma is a Spanish national and legally an adult, but she is being married off to enable her family to retain complete control over her.
“They've found a man willing to cooperate with them to destroy her past and wipe out any trace of her life in Spain, remodel her present and future according to their own wishes.”
Ironically, the two-day-long wedding is being held in an area where associations from Spain such as branches of the Friends of the Sahara People and the Polysarium Front – including the head of that of Andalucía, Abidin Bucharaya – are present.
“They are all very aware of what is happening and, far from taking action against it, they are actively participating in this violation of human rights Maloma is suffering,” Pepe complains.
“Many of them will actually be present, meaning they are effectively fully participating in this atrocious crime, colluding in a cowardly fashion.
“Spain's government simply cannot let this happen – this is not the solution, and we cannot believe Maloma has accepted this arranged marriage through her own free will, however many photos and videos flood Facebook and Instagram tomorrow in a clear gesture of victory.”
Calling Maloma's ordeal 'her death in life', Pepe says he cannot understand why Spanish authorities are not doing everything they can to free 'one of their own citizens' whose 'human rights have been trampled upon'.
Maloma's false imprisonment in Tindouf mirrors that of another young woman adopted by a Spanish family she had spent several 'Holidays in Peace' summers with – Madhjouba Mohammed Hamdidaf, who was also 23 when, during one of her annual summer visits to her Tindouf family, had her passport confiscated and was retained against her will.
She was also 12 when she was adopted by her Spanish host family in an inland village in Valencia, and went on to obtain a first-class honours degree in Arab Studies at Alicante University, spent the summer working in London and had planned to start a master's degree there in humanities when she was kidnapped.
Unlike Maloma, Madhjouba fought every step of the way and eventually devised a plan in which she gave her family of origin the slip, recovered her passport and fled to the Spanish embassy in Algiers in a getaway car, enabling her to return to Spain.
Maloma's Spanish husband says: “I don't know whether they're keeping her hostage because she's a 'useful woman' – as in, she's able to have children and care for the men and elders in the family.
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A SAHARAN woman adopted by a Spanish family was due to be married by her biological parents today (Saturday) to 'oppress her completely' and 'take away her free will', according to the Sevilla couple, who fear for the 23-year-old's welfare.
Maloma Morales de Matos, who has Spanish nationality but was born in Tindouf, part of the disputed Western Sahara territory and geographically part of Algeria, has been held hostage by her family of origin since December 2015 and unable to return to what has been her home since she was 12 years old in Mairena de Aljarafe (Sevilla province).
She had spent every summer with Pepe Morales and Carmen de Matos from the age of seven as part of the Holidays in Peace programme, whereby Sahara refugee camp children who make a concerted effort at school are rewarded with a three-month stay at a foster home in Spain between mid-June and mid-September, and their summer parents get the chance to visit them in the autumn at their camp in Tindouf.
At age 12, the two families agreed Maloma could remain living permanently with Pepe and Carmen, although they had to wait until she was 19 – the age of majority in Algeria - before she was able to legally agree to be adopted by them.
For 10 years, Maloma had been in weekly contact with her family of origin, but December 2015 was the first time she had travelled back to see them, and she has never returned.
She was accompanied by her husband Ismael and her father Pepe, and they say they heard her screaming for her dad's help just as they were leaving.
Maloma has spoken to her Spanish family several times since and assured them she is not in danger and wants 'a solution between both' sets of parents, but has told a UN High Commissioner that she wants to go back to her life in Spain.
Ismael, a Spaniard who married Maloma when she was 21, is so desperate to get his wife back safely that he has publicly announced he will convert to Islam if it means her family of origin will agree to her returning to him.
But the latest news is that Maloma's family of origin has forced her into an arranged marriage, with the wedding being held all this weekend in the village of Smara.
“Maloma is not free,” Pepe announced.
“She is not getting married, she is being married, and that makes a big difference.
“They promised they would let her return before December 2016, but that beforehand they would 'need to take steps to save the honour and reputation' of the tribe's family.
“Maloma is a Spanish national and legally an adult, but she is being married off to enable her family to retain complete control over her.
“They've found a man willing to cooperate with them to destroy her past and wipe out any trace of her life in Spain, remodel her present and future according to their own wishes.”
Ironically, the two-day-long wedding is being held in an area where associations from Spain such as branches of the Friends of the Sahara People and the Polysarium Front – including the head of that of Andalucía, Abidin Bucharaya – are present.
“They are all very aware of what is happening and, far from taking action against it, they are actively participating in this violation of human rights Maloma is suffering,” Pepe complains.
“Many of them will actually be present, meaning they are effectively fully participating in this atrocious crime, colluding in a cowardly fashion.
“Spain's government simply cannot let this happen – this is not the solution, and we cannot believe Maloma has accepted this arranged marriage through her own free will, however many photos and videos flood Facebook and Instagram tomorrow in a clear gesture of victory.”
Calling Maloma's ordeal 'her death in life', Pepe says he cannot understand why Spanish authorities are not doing everything they can to free 'one of their own citizens' whose 'human rights have been trampled upon'.
Maloma's false imprisonment in Tindouf mirrors that of another young woman adopted by a Spanish family she had spent several 'Holidays in Peace' summers with – Madhjouba Mohammed Hamdidaf, who was also 23 when, during one of her annual summer visits to her Tindouf family, had her passport confiscated and was retained against her will.
She was also 12 when she was adopted by her Spanish host family in an inland village in Valencia, and went on to obtain a first-class honours degree in Arab Studies at Alicante University, spent the summer working in London and had planned to start a master's degree there in humanities when she was kidnapped.
Unlike Maloma, Madhjouba fought every step of the way and eventually devised a plan in which she gave her family of origin the slip, recovered her passport and fled to the Spanish embassy in Algiers in a getaway car, enabling her to return to Spain.
Maloma's Spanish husband says: “I don't know whether they're keeping her hostage because she's a 'useful woman' – as in, she's able to have children and care for the men and elders in the family.
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