The War in Mali’s North–To What Effect?

The rebels--that is, the MNLA and their disavowed and dangerous allies--hold Mali hostage.

Timbuktu, by Susana Millman. Via Flickr Creative Commons Licensed.

There is war in Mali’s North, and there doesn’t need to be. Some of this conflict is hard to stop–the shadow boxing of distant powers, the scattering of weapons, the spiraling circuits of revenge. But some of this conflict people chose, and they are choosing it now. Let’s leave why for another time and place. Let’s ask instead, to what effect?

There is a lot of talk of hostages in the Sahara. In a video posted on OkayAfrica today (it was recorded in November last year) Tinariwen bassist Eyadou Ag Leche says there might be too much talk, too powerful a “media narrative” of kidnapping and insecurity. I’m sure he’s right, at least in part. This is what Achille Mbembe calls the problem of African stories being too rarely told for themselves.

Still, let me talk about other hostages. The rebels–that is, the MNLA and their disavowed and dangerous allies–hold Mali hostage. Hostage to their own violence; to that of Salafist splinter groups and local militias; to the hunger that stalks the region; to the possibility of worse to come. What else does the rebellion hold hostage? Two ancient cosmopolitan, polyglot, and multi-ethnic cities: Timbuktu, not a Tuareg town; Gao, not a Tuareg town. What else? A lush weave of striking difference, one of Africa’s gifts to a world that hasn’t always known how to value it. A library of African thought, re-discovered and largely unread. Don’t visit it, not just now. Read the work of another hostage, Ahmed Baba, who in the 17th century wrote from Morocco of Timbuktu, celebrating the tolerance and diversity of his homeland. Listen to Ali Farka Touré, or even Tinariwen, in which they sing theirs. Mourn with me, for this is a loss, and if an ethno-nationalist state replaces a multi-ethnic, secular one, it might be a terrible loss.

Or don’t. Don’t mourn, don’t organize, and if bad gets worse, don’t read the news. Don’t feel involved, engaged, responsible. And don’t ask.

Further Reading

A power crisis

Andre De Ruyter, the former CEO of Eskom, has presented himself as a simple hero trying to save South Africa’s struggling power utility against corrupt forces. But this racially charged narrative is ultimately self-serving.

Cinematic universality

Fatou Cissé’s directorial debut meditates on the uncertain fate and importance of Malian cinema amidst the growing dismissiveness towards the humanities across the world.

The meanings of Heath Streak

Zimbabwean cricketing legend Heath Streak’s career mirrors many of the unresolved tensions of race and class in Zimbabwe. Yet few white Zimbabwean sporting figures are able to stir interest and conversation across the nation’s many divides.

Victorious

After winning Italy’s Serie A with Napoli, Victor Osimhen has cemented his claim to being Africa’s biggest footballing icon. But is the trend of individual stardom good for sports and politics?

The magic man

Chris Blackwell’s long-awaited autobiography shows him as a romantic rogue; a risk taker whose life compass has been an open mind and gift to hear and see slightly into the future.

How to think about colonialism

Contemporary approaches to the legacy of colonialism tend to narrowly emphasize political agency as the solution to Africa’s problems. But agency is configured through historically particular relations of which we are not sole authors.

More than just a flag

South Africa’s apartheid flag has been declared hate speech by a top court. But while courts are important and their judgments matter, racism is a long and internationally entrenched social phenomenon that cannot be undone via judicial processes.