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Barber Shop - Ep 5: Smara Refugee Camp / Algeria

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We meet 6 populations in transition via the microcosm of the local barber shop.

In Rio de Janeiro, barber Pedro picks teenagers from the street to teach them a profession. The inhabitants of Clacton-on-Sea reflect on post-Brexit society. In South Africa, post Mandela era, the white middle class is degrading to poverty. Detroit’s young and old inhabitants, each in their own way, have learned to overcome the city’s bankruptcy. The Sahrawi refugees question the fight for their land. In India, hairdresser Soniya helps her clients to fight for women’s rights.

SMARA REFUGEE CAMP / ALGERIA

Set in the Western Sahara, Barber Shop Algeria tells the story of the last colony in Africa: since Morocco illegally annexed the territory of the Sahrawi, this nomad population has been living in refugee camps along a long Moroccan wall built in the middle of the desert. For generations, the Sahrawi have been fighting to reclaim their land.

In Smara refugee camp, barber Mohammed treats customers of different generations: old men that initiated the resistance, young men who prefer modern life over a seemingly useless battle, and children, who need to learn the real reasons for the theft of the Sahrawi’s land…