In the desolate reaches of southwestern Algeria, tens of thousands of Sahrawis have lived in limbo for nearly half a century—exiled from their homeland of Western Sahara, caught between broken diplomacy and mounting regional instability.

I traveled with writer David Conrad to the Polisario-controlled camps near Tindouf, where generations have grown up in exile, shaped by political stagnation, sand, and survival. What we found was a place both deeply human and geopolitically fraught—where tea is poured with ceremony, children learn beneath tarps, and fighters patrol one of the world’s most neglected conflict zones.

Operating in this region meant navigating not just physical remoteness but real, persistent danger. This corridor along the Algerian-Mauritanian-Malian border is one of the most volatile in the world—a hotbed for arms trafficking, extremism, and growing influence from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Simply moving through it required careful coordination, trust-building, and luck.

I embedded with North African counter-terrorism special forces tasked with disrupting AQIM recruitment and smuggling routes—documenting tense patrols, intelligence briefings, and the psychological toll of operating in a place where any misstep could cost lives. Even photographing in these conditions was a risk. Sometimes just existing there was.

This project, published in Foreign Policy Magazine, documents life in a forgotten place—where identity endures despite absence, and survival depends not just on resilience, but on the ability to navigate the unseen threats that surround it.