Mali

"Allow me to break down the facts of hunger as they stand right now. 811 million people are chronically hungry. 283 million are in hunger crises — they are marching toward starvation. And within that, 45 million in 43 countries across the globe are in hunger emergencies — in other words, famine is knocking on their door. Places like Afghanistan. Madagascar. Myanmar. Guatemala. Ethiopia. Sudan. South Sudan. Mozambique. Niger. Syria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Somalia, Haiti and on and on and on. The world has often experienced famine. But when has it ever been so widespread, in so many places, at the same time? Why? Three reasons. First, man-made conflict. Dozens of civil wars and regional conflicts are raging, and hunger has been weaponized to achieve military and political objectives. Second, climate shocks /climate change. Floods, droughts, locusts and rapidly changing weather patterns have created severe crop failures around the world. Third, COVID-19. The viral pandemic has created a secondary hunger pandemic, which is far worse than the first. Shutdowns destroyed livelihoods. Shutdowns stopped the movement of food. Shutdowns inflated prices. The net result is the poor of the world are priced out of survival. The ripple effect of COVID has been devastating on the global economy. During the pandemic, $3.7 trillion in incomes — mostly among the poor — have been wiped out, while food prices are spiking. The cost of shipping food, for example, has increased 3 – 400%. But in places of conflict and low-income countries, it is even worse. For example, in Aleppo, Syria — a war zone, where I just returned from — food is now seven times more expensive than it was 2 years ago. The combined effect of these three — conflict, climate and COVID — has created an unprecedented perfect storm."

"We strongly condemn the terrorist attacks that targeted respectively a camp of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in Kidal (Mali) and Malian soldiers in the Timbuktu region"

"It is the case of Mali whose very existence was threatened seven months ago by the barbarism of terrorism and which managed to find the strength to elect its new president."

"Mali is on the road to recovery. It is recovering its territorial integrity, is actively preparing for the presidential elections in July and, with the international donor conference in Brussels, is making progress in its development."

"There is in particular an improvement of the security conditions in the big cities of the north which were freed from jihadi groups. As proved by the visit of the French President François Hollande in Timbuktu, which was greeted with joy by the people."

"They took Diabaly after fierce fighting and resistance from the Malian army that was not able to hold them off at that moment. About five [rebel] vehicles entered the town. Now they're stationed about 200m (650ft) from the military camp but they haven't taken the camp. They've killed a few soldiers."

"At its zenith in the middle of the 15th Century Timbuktu was known all over the world as a repository for all sorts of knowledge, including Arabic Islamic writing, science, maths and history. What is so important about Timbuktu's literary patrimony is that it is a challenge to Western ideas that Africa is a land of song and dance and oral tradition. It reveals a continent with an immensely rich literary and scientific heritage."

"The popular statement, “From here to Timbuktu”, conjures up images of remote, distant parts of the earth. But Timbuktu is in fact a real city in the west African country of Mali."

"The ancient city of Timbuktu had known a lot of conquest and occupation in the past but people of Timbuktu are tolerant and pacifist and practice a tolerant Islam and live with tolerance toward other religions. The economy of that city is essentially based on tourist activity but since kidnapping of westerners, touareg revolution and Islamist militant invasions in northern regions of Mali there is no more tourism in the region of Timbuktu."

"...he was very touched by the destruction of shrines and the burning of ancient manuscripts of Timbuktu. He ends his address by this quote “the united nations will always be with Mali.”"

"Since the liberation of the ancient city of Timbuktu by the French army “operation serval” important leaders visited the historic city all focus on development, rebuilding, and restoration of its ancient historic sites."

"...the city was occupied by touareg revolutionaries and Islamist militants in 2012. During the occupation ancient city of Timbuktu was ruled under sharia law. Innocent people endured all manner of inhuman abuses and humiliation. During the occupation Islamists destroyed the identity of the people of Timbuktu, which are shrines. Among these shrines there is shrine of the saint “Sidi Mahamoud”, classified shrines of UNESCO in the world."

"...with the donations of United Nations, PAM, UNICEF, and FAO people of Timbuktu are surviving because we were in an open sky prison. In the sector of school and administration we salute the efforts of the United Nations and other partners for the action they have been doing in Timbuktu. Within the framework of peace and security we thank the United Nations, above all populations are coming back to their homeland they also need assistance, actually we are in the process of reconciliation. Malian must be united as brothers and sisters and must walk hand by hand in order to sit on the table of brotherhood without racism or extremism. It’s important to notice [that we notable of] Timbuktu's great problems are the issues of children schooling but actually we are happy that they are going to school thanks to the support of partners. All the population of Timbuktu thank you for the opportunity you are giving to our children to study. We also hope that the United Nations, FAO, the Oummou Sangare foundation, UNICEF continue to work together with us to overcome our difficulties. Without peace and security there is no development in Mali. It’s for Malians to work hand by hand on the table of brotherhood and overcome their difficulties in order to develop their country no one can do that for them."

"Centres of learning at Walala, Djenna, and Timbuktu had a singular impact on African education in d medieval times."

"The University of Sankore one of the foremost intellectually inspired in the world...If the University of Sankore had not been destroyed; ...If the University of Sankore had survived the ravages of foreign invasions, the academic and cultural history of Africa might have been different from what it is today."

"Home of the prestigious Koranic Sankore University and other madrasas, Timbuktu was an intellectual and spiritual capital and a centre for the propagation of Islam throughout Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its three great mosques, Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia, recall Timbuktu's golden age. Although continuously restored, these monuments are today under threat from desertification."

"The World Heritage properties situated in the northern parts of Mali have been subjected to destructive attacks since they were occupied by armed rebel groups in April this year [2012]. In Timbuktu, nine mausoleums have been desecrated, including two at the Mosque of Djingareyber, the most important mosque in the town."

"...the single most important collection [priceless manuscripts] from pre-colonial West Africa."

"“The Europeans came very late to Timbuktu," says Marie Rodet, lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. For centuries, they tried to reach the place because it was a mythological place of trade and Islamic scholars. It had been described in Arab manuscripts in the Middle Ages so they knew about the history but they never reached it because the population never allowed them."

"It is a place where many, many things happened since the 12th Century. A place of knowledge... a place that tells us a lot about how great the African people were and continue to be. We need to save Timbuktu."

"The city is quite calm nowadays, even though residual criminal acts remain. On terrorist issues we bet on Serval. People rely on Serval for this kind of issue, much more than on the UN soldiers."

"Anche se una piroga resta a lungo nel fiume non diventerà mai un coccodrillo."

"La spina nella carne di un'altra persona è più facile a levarla."

"Tutto ha una fine, tranne la banana che ne ha due."