root salad f18 Manny Ansar
The Festival In The Desert founder hopes for things in Mali to get back to normal, hears Bas Springer.
T
he Festival au Désert in Mali is one of the largest and most remarkable music festivals in West Africa. It was created in 2001 to celebrate and showcase traditional Tuareg culture. The unique location, literally in the middle of the desert, and the mysterious and hypnotic music of the Tuaregs soon attracted such international artists as Robert Plant and Justin Adams and visitors from all over the globe. From 2001 until 2009 the festival was held in Essakane, a small village around 70 km from Timbuktu. Because of security issues, from 2010 the festival was held on the outskirts of Timbuktu. In 2013 the festival was cancelled and went into exile due to threats from Al Qaida-linked extremists. This year’s edition was also cancelled because of the political unrest and the lack of security guarantees in Mali.
Co-founder and executive Director of the Festival au Désert is Mr Mohamed Aly Ansar, better known as Manny Ansar. He was born into a Tuareg nomad family on a sand dune 100 km north of the city of Tim- buktu. With a Masters degree in Interna- tional Public Law, he worked on humani- tarian projects before turning towards music, becoming the first manager of the Tuareg music group Tinariwen.
“When Tinariwen played in 2000 for the first time in France, we met the French group Lo’Jo. They asked me if there were Tuareg festivals in Mali. I answered that the Tuareg held yearly gatherings for reconciliation and mar- riages but didn’t have music festivals. They proposed to help us organise a music festival for the Tuareg. I told them that we don’t have electricity, sound sys- tems and stages in the desert but in Jan- uary 2001 the First Festival In The Desert took place, which was attended by about 1000 locals and 80 Europeans. This was the first time ever that electronic music could be heard in the Malian desert.”
In twelve years the festival has grown into one of the most colourful world music festivals on this planet. The show- case of Tuareg culture attracted thou- sands of visitors from all over the world who described their experiences at the festival as almost mythical.
The last edition was held on 13th, 14th and 15th January 2012. A few days later the Northern Mali conflict began when the MNLA ( Movement for the Lib- eration of Azawad) launched their rebel- lion in the northern part of Mali. In 2013 the festival was postponed because of the lack of security.
I
n February 2013 the Festival au Désert was granted the Freemuse Award. Freemuse is an organisation advocating freedom of expression for musicians and composers and fighting censorship. On achieving this prestigious award Manny Ansar reacted: “While extremist forces may attempt to divide and silence our communities, the cultural heritage that lives and weaves between us, will always overcome. We will continue to spread our international message of tolerance and plurality in exile, until we are able to return home to Timbuktu in peace.”
In October 2013 Manny Ansar received the Womex Professional Excel- lence Award on behalf of Festival au Désert. He responded proudly: “It’s a great honour for the festival team and my coun- try. It’s a recognition for the work we have done although honestly I don’t believe that we are the most professional organi- sation in world music. I think it’s more an award to stimulate us to go on with the festival. Although the situation in Mali is difficult, we have decided to go on.”
Unfortunately the 2014 edition was postponed again. Despite all the efforts of the Government of Mali and international troops the situation in Timbuktu was still not safe enough.
Ansar: “Until the music can return to Mali with freedom of expression and dig- nity, the Festival au Désert will remain a festival in exile. Last summer, a Caravan For Peace comprising Malian musicians has been touring the USA and Canada, and later that year Malian artists played in Nor- way. In the meanwhile The Cultural Cara- van For Peace was organised, which was launched in November in Morocco during the Festival of Taragalte. Late January this caravan reached Burkina Faso and ended on February 4th in Segou, where the Cara- van Of Peace integrated with the Festival Sur Le Niger.”
“In the beginning our festival was important to promote music from Mali. Later, with thousands of tourists coming to Mali, it was supporting the local econo- my. Now it’s important for the reconcilia- tion and peace in Mali. It’s my deepest wish to return to Mali. Hope is coming back slowly.”
“We have a deep rooted culture of liv-
ing together. Mali is a crossroads between North and Southern Africa so we are used to different cultures. We’ve had a long tra- dition of dealing with one another ever since the days of the Malian Empire. I think that what’s happening now in Mali is just an incident.”
www.festival-au-desert.org F
Photo: Judith Burrows
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108