Several khaïmas, traditional Mauritanian tents, were set up at the foot of a large dune to welcome us. We have arrived at the fourth stage: Acacia Camp.

As soon as I arrived, I made a mistake: I drew Rachid, an aide-de-camp who prepared acacia resin tea, instead of drawing Blaoui, the camp leader. Blaoui is upset not to have been chosen first as a model. He nudges Rachid with his elbow while whispering a sentence in Hassani, the language of the Saharawis, then freezes, ostensibly waiting for me to paint him. Aziz said to me later, laughing, Do you know what Blaoui said to Rachid when he pushed him? He told him: “You don’t even know how to pose, you’re always moving. ! »

Blaoui takes care of André, his kid, who has become the camp mascot, all day long. Its name comes from Indrya, which means source in Hassani. Aziz explains to me: You know that goats all have different voices? All day long, they bleat just to position themselves in relation to others. They spend their days saying “I’m heeeeere"