Francina Armengol, President of the Congress of Deputies, used a visit by nearly 100 Sahrawi children to the lower house on Wednesday to demand dignity and freedom for the Sahrawi people. In a departure from the tone predominant in the lower house, Armengol revealed for the first time that she had served as a foster parent to two Sahrawi children, framing the “Vacaciones en Paz” (Holidays in Peace) program as a humanitarian necessity.
Youth Refugees Replace Political Confrontation
For several minutes, the interior of the Congress was transformed. Children participating in the “Vacaciones en Paz” initiative—which allows youth from refugee camps to spend summer holidays in Spain—occupied the seats typically reserved for deputies. Their presence momentarily erased the atmosphere of insults and political confrontation that has defined recent sessions in the chamber.
Health Minister Mónica García accompanied the group. Describing the morning as “emotional,” García expressed gratitude toward the associations and families providing shelter. In a public statement, she asserted that these children “have the right to grow and live in a free Sahara.”
A Private Bond With the Sahrawi Community
Armengol stepped away from her usual public persona to disclose a deeply personal connection to the cause. She revealed she had been a foster parent to a boy and a girl, both eight years old at the time, and had also participated in the Madrasa program.
Those children are now 24. Armengol noted that her daughter attended the event because her nephew is currently staying with a host family in Madrid. It is a network of solidarity, Armengol described, that is “absolutely impossible to break.”
The Reality of the Tindouf Camps
The President of the Congress pivoted from personal memory to a critique of the Tindouf refugee camps, where the biological families of her former foster children still reside. Armengol has visited the camps personally.
Her testimony was blunt: they are “not a space for living” and lack dignity. She argued that the Sahrawi people deserve the freedom they have fought for over many years—a struggle she noted is recognized by the United Nations. Her intervention ended with applause from the guests and representatives filling the hemicycle.
