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| Bono and Ali at the Festival du Art in Timbuktu, Mali, 2012 |
Last year Bono and Ali attended the Festival du Art in Timbuktu, Mali. This year with the French military intervention in Mali , the organisers of the landmark music festival, Festival au Désert, were still adamant they would go ahead with this year’s edition ’in-exile’, having being forced out from their stricken native land.
Founded in 2001 by a collective of North Malian Touareg musicians, the festival’s thirteenth edition this year was to seek refuge in the community’s nomadic roots as its home, in the south Saharan city of Timbuktu, has come under the control of various coalitions of Jihadists and armed rebel militias since early last year (2012).
Planning to travel thousands of Kilometres, Festival au Désert looked to tour in February/March 2013 across Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Algeria in two separate caravans of artists, activists and fans, whose routes would eventually cross in Southern Mali.
Instead, the 2013 Rendez-Vous in exile will take the festival’s banner of non-violence and cultural struggle elsewhere around the rest of the globe, but most unlikely not around the Sahel. Over the next twelve months, a network of international supporters in partnership with the original production team will be running “in exile” events and caravans across the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the US.
In the light of current events and in an increasingly volatile region, this year’s edition is very unlikely to cruise around the Sahel as initially conceived, but cultural activists and festival organisers behind Festival au Désert will undoubtedly rise in defiance once again. It is a story of peaceful resistance whose message isn’t about Touaregs, ‘blue people’, nomads and myths of geographically-remote places echoed by colonial narratives and wreathed in orientalist whims. As Manny Ansar, founder and director of Festival au Désert, told Ceasefire in the course of this interview, “Festival au Désert is unwaveringly standing in solidarity with Timbuktu and vowing to extend Northern Mali’s tradition of tolerance to world populations in similar distress”.
Ceasefire has posted a long interview to Manny Ansar, founder and director of Festival au Désert. He mentions Bono`s help in the course of the dialogue:
CF: Historically, Festival au Désert has attracted many worldwide music icons such as Robert Plant of the Led Zeppelin. Is the festival still receiving support from international artists in the west?
MA: As for financing, this year there has been very little. Nothing confirmed so far. The Irish star Bono has promised to help after his surprise visit and stage appearance in last year’s edition. He often sends sympathetic messages of moral support. Bono is more involved and committed to the global caravan. He is in charge of this initiative, along with big names in the American cinema and media. At this stage, they are studying the feasibility of the project in different countries across North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia and elsewhere in Africa. The first event in this world tour is expected in April. It is aimed at raising awareness of the conflict and helping to alleviate the suffering of refugees.
To read the complete interview, click here.
http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk
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