The opinions of passers-by were pretty clear: people don’t want melons from the conflict zone in Western Sahara in Swiss supermarkets. We spent a day on Limmatplatz and recorded our encounters from May 21, 2016 in an abridged video.
“I wouldn’t buy it!”, “Certainly not […] that would be fundamentally wrong!” were some of the opinions of passers-by on the subject of melons from Western Sahara in Swiss supermarkets. When terre des hommes schweiz drew attention to the issue for a day on Limmatplatz, the assumption was confirmed: most consumers were unaware of the problems surrounding the fruit from this conflict zone. When they found out about it, the feedback was all the clearer: if Migros and Denner customers knew that the melons came from conflict areas, they would not buy them.
We are therefore calling on all Swiss retailers to stop selling products from Western Sahara. You too can express this wish in less than a minute using our form. You can find the form at www.terredeshommesschweiz.ch/bitteremelonen.
Coop has already understood this – why not Migros?
Western Sahara has been occupied by Morocco for 40 years. While the majority of the original population, the Sahrawis, are dependent on international aid supplies in refugee camps in southern Algeria, Morocco grows fruit and vegetables in the occupied territory. These are also sold in Swiss supermarkets. While Coop no longer wants to import products from Western Sahara from 2017, Migros and Denner will continue to sell melons from Western Sahara.
Overexploitation and violation of international law
Morocco is violating international law by cultivating the products. But the products from Western Sahara are not only problematic from a human rights perspective. Fossil groundwater is also used to irrigate the plantations. These are non-renewable water reserves.
