A YOUNG woman adopted by a Sevilla family 11 years ago who was thought to be held against her will by her biological parents in her native Western Sahara has denied claims that she has been 'forced' into an arranged marriage.
Maloma Morales de Matos, 23, who visited her family of origin in Tindouf – which is geographically in Algeria but part of the disputed Western Sahara territory – in December 2015 and has never returned claims she got married at the weekend 'because she wanted to' and that she is 'totally against' unconsenting arranged unions.
“I've had enough of everyone saying I married because my family forced me into it – that's a lie,” Maloma told radio station Cadena SER after her adoptive father José Morales, from Mairena de Aljarafe, described his 'endless pain and helplessness' at her plight.
Maloma was thought to have been married in Spain to Ismael, who said two months after the young woman was reportedly kidnapped that he would even convert to Islam if it meant her family would let her return to him – but in the radio interview he was described as her 'ex-boyfriend'.
She said Ismael was 'a good friend' and she 'wished him all the best'.
Maloma admits she did not mention anything about her wedding to her Spanish family because 'the culture there and here are two different worlds'.
“I knew if I told them, that this would happen – that it would be all over the media that I'd been pushed into an arranged marriage – although I wouldn't have minded if they [her Spanish family] had wanted to come to the wedding.
“I wouldn't mind going to Spain again and my husband wouldn't mind either – he has no business telling me whether or not I'm allowed to leave the Sahara, neither is my family holding me hostage here.”
Maloma says she 'plans to visit' her adopted family in Sevilla but 'does not know when'.
“When I do, it'll be without any problems, in no rush and with no panic or stress, and I'll be there for as long as I consider fair and necessary,” she explains.
“They wanted to teach me about Saharan culture”
The radio presenters asked her if, at least initially, she had felt pressurised into staying in the Sahara, given that her visit to Tindouf was supposed to be for a limited time and she had intended to return to her 'normal' life in Spain afterwards.
“What happened in the beginning was because I didn't understand the Saharan traditions,” Maloma confesses, although without elaborating.
“But once I understood everything, I saw that my family [in Tindouf] only wanted the best for me. They don't wish any harm to me and they always try to do the right thing.
“I realise now that my biological family wanted me to spend some time with them to learn about the Saharan traditions and so as not to lose my native culture, but this does not stop me from having my freedom – I'm completely free to decide what I want and travel when I choose and, likewise, my husband is not going to stop me doing anything; neither is my family, because prohibiting people from doing what they want is considered a sin in Saharan culture.”
Maloma says her new husband, also Saharan, lives in the next village, and adds that she is fond of Ismael – who was understood to be, in fact, her husband back in Spain, but whom she now claims is her ex-boyfriend.
“He's a good friend, and I wish him all the best,” she told the radio presenters.
“I'm not going to lose contact with the people I know in Spain – I have lots of wonderful memories of living in Andalucía.”
Additionally, she gave a face-to-face interview in the company of reporter Juan Miguel Baquero from El Correo, an interactive news portal covering the province of Sevilla, in which she said: “I want all this conflict between my family [in Tindouf] and my family [in Spain] to stop – I've already said, I don't know how many times, 'I'm not being held hostage'.”
Maloma was smiling and laughing in the two short videos, one outside in the desert village and another inside the modest single-room house she lives in, where she was alone with the TV crew and her family not present, and which were filmed on different occasions as seen by her wearing two different colours of hijab – an accessory she never wore in Spain, hinting that she has now fully embraced her native culture.
Although relaxed and smiling, Maloma called for the national media to 'leave her in peace' and 'let her get on with her life and her marriage'.
“She was begging us to 'get her out of there' a week ago”
But the plot thickens, since Maloma's adopted father in Spain, José Morales, still insists she is 'h
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