‘A historic day’: Spain moves closer to citizenship for Western Saharans

Madrid, Spain – For Mohamed Mohamedna, it was a historic moment.On Thursday, the Spanish parliament backed citizenship for Western Saharans born in the North African territory when Madrid ruled it as a colony.Recommended Stories list of 1 itemlist 1 of 1Spain’s Parliament backs citizenship for Western Saharans born before 1977end of listLike other campaigners, 52-year-old Mohamedna had been waiting for years for this gesture.“This is a great, historic day,” he told Al Jazeera. “I have been living in Spain for 21 years but I have always been classed as having ‘no state’.”Mohamed Mohamedna is one of tens of thousands who could soon be granted Spanish nationality [Courtesy of Mohamed Mohamedna]Mohamedna, who has been living in Vitoria in northwestern Spain and works for a private company, has been stateless since he arrived in Spain.Spain’s lower house of parliament overwhelmingly voted for the move, which analysts say could benefit more than 100,000 Sahrawis.Mohamedna hopes he will soon be able to apply for a Spanish passport.But the bill, which requires Senate approval before becoming law, comes amid tensions between Spain and Morocco after more than 70,000 migrants crossed into Spa...