Boring trouble in Timbuktu…

But of a manuscript and library nature. And more annoying than deadly and tragic.  If  one contemplates the recent jihadist attack at Aguelhok which killed ten Chadian UN soldiers I feel I should not complain about anything at all. But I will, since I have started…

It is not easy to manage a project at a great distance- I only see the staff for a few precious hours on a couple of days every two/three months when I get to Timbuktu. That may not matter so much if communication was clear and I could rely on good weekly reports. But such is not the situation.

When I lived in Djenne and looked after the BL projects I used to pop into the Djenne Manuscript Library every other day. ‘What have you found that is fun ?’ I always used to say. And they always used to reply that  they hadn’t found anything at all. But of course they had : ‘What is this manuscript talking about for instance?’ I asked , and quite often I would find that what they deemed uninteresting might be something quite fascinating, such as the day when one of their ‘boring’ manuscripts turned out to be an early nineteenth century letter with an eye witness report of a battle that had been fought in Djenne. I loved the work with the library because the material interested me. The staff and I got on well –with one notable exception- although I am a very short tempered supervisor. The slanging matches we invariably got involved in were balanced out  by plenty of fun- jolly banter and the perpetual Malian teasing  to do with marriages and such like.I think that they knew that I was 'on their side' and we did somehow make up a good team. But in Timbuktu it  is quite different: I have a feeling they are rather looking at the project as  'us and them' situation.

 In Timbuktu there is not much fun at the moment to make up for annoying and evasive behaviour. For a start, I don’t have such a close knowledge about the material since noone tells me anything about it- although I have asked them to communicate if they find something of interest so I can put it up on social media  etc. And  selfishly  I want to discover things and  revel in the exciting fact that we are actually working on some of the most important manuscripts in Timbuktu, belonging to what was regarded as the University of Sankore. - I  know that there must be amazing things to find out ! But the silence is deafening from my Timbuktu collaborators. 

And now one of our three libraries has run out of manuscripts. Before we started the project we were of course assured that there were plenty of documents to digitize- they were all hidden at various family members houses. Our libraries were the ones that had chosen not to take part in the celebrated rescue mission described in best selling books and numerous articles and documentaries when the majority of Timbuktu's manuscripts were removed to Bamako, away from the danger of Jihadists' attacks.  Our libraries had instead decided to hide their manuscripts in Timbuktu. 

In April we spent  lots of money kitting out one new digitizing studio with material- not only for the photography but also air conditioner, fridge , furniture, flooring etc. As the months carried on we became aware that the work flow from this one library was particularly slow and it became apparent that very often the workers just sat around waiting for material to digitize. And now there seems to be none left at all ! I am very cross with the head of this library who has not told us the truth. 

Finally today, after giving plenty of time to gather together the manuscripts to convince us that there were enough it became clear that nothing was forthcoming. So all material was removed from this one library to be redeployed in the other two. And then, when the library stood there empty and forlorn, suddenly I get the news that manuscripts have miraculously been found! I don’t believe it, I don’t trust it and I am very annoyed… We’ll have to see tomorrow.

Meanwhile here in London there are some embryonic first thoughts on making a fund raising Mali event happen around May. There seems to be several strands for the knitting together of this event- and they have all presented themselves quite independently- more about this hopefully later… it may be a Mali Market with jewellery and textiles- there may be Mali food, there may be a Mali film… and perhaps a reading of some of the Sundiatta epic in English translation- but done in the Griot way accompanied by a Goni… Hmm just thinking aloud and open to suggestions…