01:00:00 Woman and child in desert < Tuareg music>
01:00:31 Tuareg musicians sitting in sand
CARDS
Tuareg people have been know thousands of years ago
By historians who know about
Their history, their society
About their civilization.
They are very rich in culture.
Till today it's a proud people. Man: Tuareg people know we thousand years ago by uh.. historian that we know about them, about their history, about their society, about their civilization. They are very rich in culture. Till today, it's uh.. a proud people.
Woman: We have no control of what's happening. Our land is not our land anymore.
Man: We are at the bottom of the barrel. We have no education, no health clinics, no security.
01:01:01 Children walking in desert
CARDS
We are at the middle of two different problems
On the right the terrorist and the other part
A government who don’t respect its agreements
CARD
Al Jazeera Exclusive
Mamatal: They are at the middle of two uh.. different problem. In the right, the terrorist, the other part, uh.. a government who n-- don't respect the agreement.
Barbara: In Afghanistan, we've diminished the power of the Taliban, but some of these same extremists are beginning to move into the Sahara, and these are the same people then who would like to- to attack us.
Samah: Tourist don't want to come here, because they are so afraid, because all time in the TV, they say, yes, it's kidnapping, that way, that way, that way.
01:01:31 Islamist speaking angrily in French Omar: When we've conquered France, we'll come to the USA. We'll come to London and conquer the whole world.
Man: From militant Islamic Jihadi forums, they had a- a map of West Africa and then the map of Mali was completely black with Allahu Akbar in the middle
CARDS
Rape outrage
Gun debate
Tech giant's death
Debt fight
War in Mali
Exclusive
U.S. and the war in Mali
Live CNN
Politics
Gov. O'Malley (D-Md.) called for stricter gun control
DOW 18.80 News reporter: War in Mali. A deadly conflict between Al Qaeda-linked militants and the Malian government is escalating and the United States is getting involved.
01:01:59 Armed rebels on truck
CARD
Al Jazeera Exclusive Man: Europeans, USA, United Nations helped finance Mali. In return, Mali is massacring Tuareg people.
Mamatal: If w- we have terrorists, this is the truth, and if will United State or European Union want to fight this terrorist, they have to collaborate with the Tuareg people, and helping them will help to fight this terrorism.
01:02:39 Man in desert leading camel
CARD
Behind the Blue Veil
A film by
Robyn Symon <guitar music>
CARDS
I was really very motivated to take part
Of something who can give a vision about my people. Mamatal: My name is Mamatal Ag Dahmane, Ag Dahmane.
Man: I was really very, very motivated to take a part of something who can give a vision about my people.
<call to prayer>
01:03:01 Street in Timbuktu
SIGN
Bienvenue a Tombouctou cite des 333 saints
CARDS
We are here in the city of Timbuktu
But our campment is 90 or 80 km in the north of Timbuktu Mamatal: We are here in the city of Timbuktu, but uh.. our campment is uh.. 90, 80 kilometers in the north of Timbuktu.
CARD
More than 3.5 million Tuareg live in Northern Africa divided into 5 countries in the Sahara Desert.
Interview with Jeremy Keenan
LOWER THIRD
Jeremy Keenan
Author "The Dark Sahara" Jeremy: During the colonial period, the French built up the Tuareg uh.. and portrayed them very much as these great desert warriors, very romantic. And the fact that they're nomads and they are the indigenous population of the Sahara. Of course, the men are veiled. This gives them mystique. Uh.. the women are not.
01:03:37 Cattle in near desert well Mamatal: We are going to my campment and we have uh.. at this time uh.. three hours of uh.. driving. The family is waiting us.
<guitar music>
Mamatal: <speaking French>
01:04:02 Mamatal and men by truck Mamatal: <speaking French>
01:04:31 Crowd watching camel race
LOWER THIRD
Barbara Worley, PhD
Social Anthropologist, Univ. of Massachusetts <Tuareg music>
Barbara: The Tuareg have been called the blue people of the Sahara, because of the distinctive cloth that they wear. The dye then uh.. rubs off on their skin and leaves a blue shadow on their skin so that they look like blue people.
CARDS
Life in the desert, you feel alive.
You have to be friends with nature, with the desert with the wind, with the sun Mamatal: Salaam Alekum.
<men greeting in Arabic>
Mamatal: The life in the desert, you uh.. you feel to be in life, and you have to be friend with uh.. the nature, with the desert, with the wind, with the sun.
01:05:05 Exterior large white tent
CARDS
It is really simple.
You are with your parents.
You are educated in our culture.
You are learning about how to survive in the desert. <people speaking Arabic>
Mamatal: It is really simple. You are uh.. with uh.. your parents. You are uh.. educated li-- in our culture. You are uh.. learning about how to survive in the desert.
01:05:25 Mamatal with family
CARDS
Each people in the world
Identity is his culture
And our identity is not only what we have on the paper
Like name, like profession.
Our real identity is who we are
What is our civilization
Because we are not anything without our culture Mamatal: Each people in the world, identity is his culture, and uh.. our identity is not only what we have on the paper, like name, like profession. Our uh.. real identity is uh.. who we are, what is our civilization, because we are not anything without our culture.
CARD
In our culture we have a big respect for women. Woman: We make the tents.
Man: In our culture, we have a big, big respect to- to the- the woman
Mother: We're the ones that raise the children
UPPER THIRD
Mamatal's mother Woman: <speaking Arabic>
Mother: We teach them how to survive in the desert.
01:06:00 Mamatal's family in tent Man: All the work inside the tent is the woman. Outside the tent is for men.
<overlapping conversation in Arabic>
Mother: If a guest comes here and the men are not here, we're the ones who take care of them. We are the ones who provide that hospitality.
01:06:28 CARDS
Each person has his role.
If you talk about the light Tuareg
Their role is to protect the others.
If you saw the black Tuareg, some are what we called griot who makes jewelry and plays music. Mamatal: Each person has his role. If you talk about light Tuareg, the role is to protect the other. If you saw the black Tuareg, some are uh.. are what we call it griot, who make jewelry, play music.
<Tuareg music>
UPPER THIRD
Ahmad Ag Wariagate
Tuareg Griot Ahmad: Man: In the past our role is not really music but advisers of the chief, making arrangements and acting as keepers of our oral tradition.
01:06:58 Women pounding grain <women singing>
CARDS
You have the others who we call the bella.
Their role is to be normally with the animals and to bring water from the well Mamatal: And you have-- you have the other we call the- the bella. A- and their role is to be uh.. normally with the animals and to go uh.. to bring water or to the well.
CARDS
If we ask why these people are nomads
What he has is only their animals.
They have to take care of their animals.
And to take care of their animals is to be where water is and where grass is. Mamatal: If we uh.. ask why the- this person are nomad, what he has is only their animals and they have to take care about their animals. And to take care about their animals is to be where uh.. water is and where grass is.
01:07:34 Mamatal on balcony
UPPER THIRD
"Mamatal" Mamatal: It's what we call it Tamasheq, "aman iman," l-- uh.. water is life.
Mamatal: We need not to be blind. I don't know what it happen. It is clear today. You will see how these people are in extreme poverty.
01:08:01 People at water pump Woman: We can't pull out the old pump, so we had to put the new pump on top of the old one. That's what the problem is. What little water we get out of it, we have to use for the women and the children. This is why the animals here are still hoping to get water.
UPPER THIRD
Tichirift wallet Daoud
Kidal, Mali Tichirift: What is hard on a woman today is our current situation. Things have changed very quickly. More than we can cope with.
01:08:31 Boys tending goats
LOWER THIRD
Hsen Larbi
Amazigh Cultural Association in America Hsen: There's so little rain. Their herds are decimated by droughts. That's their main means of survival, but also because of neglect from the Malian government. Uh.. the Malian government did not put a penny in developing the north. There's absolutely nothing in the north. There's no schools, no health clinics, no- no roads, no nothing.
01:08:59 Family in tent
CARDS
In the campment two days ago we look for one tablet of Paracetamol (pain/fever medication).
Anybody have this tablet.
There is absolutely nothing.
And when my sister was sick we had only the camel to transport
And the camel can't arrive in time to the hospital
And unfortunately she died. Mamatal: In the campment, two days ago, we look for one tablet of Paracetamol, anybody ha- has this uh.. tablet. There is absolutely nothing. And when my sister sick, uh.. we have only the camel for the transport and uh.. the camel can't arrive at time, at time to the hospital, and unfortunately, she died. So this is the- the kind of thing we have to uh.. we have to understand
01:09:31 People sitting at funeral <Tuareg music>
01:09:52 Ambassador in office
UPPER THIRD
Al Maamoun Keita
Malian Ambassador to US
CARDS
Sure she shouldn't have to die.
These kinds of problem, transportation of patients to hospitals is not an exclusive problem for the north.
It's a general problem.
The capacities of a country like Mali are very limited. Al Maamoun: Sure, she- she shouldn't have to die, but th- this kind of problems, transportation of uh.... patients to uh.. hospitals or other thing, it's not an exclusive problem for the north. It's a general problem. The capacities of uh.. a country like uh.. like Mali uh.. it's-- are- are very limited.
Sick People waiting for medical care
01:10:28 Angry camel <Camel making loud noise>
Salah sitting on steps
UPPER THIRD
Salah Ag Mohamed Alher
CARDS
My father is the chief of the village. My father must provide food for them to eat.
If he sells jewelry, like people make stuff by hand
If he can get money he buys food
But it's so difficult.
Some students don't want to be there because there's not enough food. Salah: My name is Salahoudin Ag Mohamed Alher but you call me Salah. My father is the chief of village, so my father must to take for them eat. If he- he is sell jewelry, like people make stuff by hand. He take money, he- he buy for them eat here. But it is so difficult. Some student don't want to be there because the eat is not enough.
01:11:05 People outside tent
UPPER THIRD
Mohamed Alher Ag Almahdi
Tuareg Village Chief
CARDS
I don't like that my culture is dying.
I like to do everything for my village.
Mohamed: I don't like my culture is die. I like do everything for my village
Man: We need food for the children. We need medicines.
CARD
People from England helped make a (medical) building.
Mamatal: People from uh.. England, they help uh.. making a building.
Woman: No medical supplies, no medicine?
Mamatal: Vraiment, they no have no, nothing. You see what they have is here.
01:11:34 Salah walking with Mohamed Salah: When I grow up, I want to be a doctor, because I see a lot of people want to help as uh.. as my village. There is a lot of people he-- get sick and uh.. I think it's better to be a doctor.
<children chanting>
01:11:58 Children in school hut
UPPER THIRD
Hainou Ag Mohamed
Tuareg Parent Hainou: We see that our children need to be educated. We bring them to school, abandoning our animals, leaving them with the women. But to get to school, the trip takes 3 camel days or more. Then some children are turned away.
Man: As you can see we practically have nothing. We only have the board and the chalk.
Man: Does your school get help from the government?
Man: No, our school does not get such help.
01:12:27 Children and fathers walking to school
CARDS
Many children leave because we didn't have the possibility to take care of them.
To get food, a place for them to live. Mamatal: Many children uh.. leave because we uh.. didn't get the possibility to take uh.. care about them, to g- get food, to get place uh.. for them to- to live, so uh.. they decided to go.
UPPER THIRD
Sidi Mokhame Ag Mohamed
Teacher in Kidal Sidi: When one wants to eliminate you, he will not take care of you. Mali does not care. The lack of education. Lack of knowing our basic human rights. That's what will eliminate us.
01:12:55 Sidi by chalkboard
CARDS
Tuareg people were like a people who were
Left out of all this development
All this evolution, all this modernism.
They didn't choose to be out.
They choose to preserve their culture. Mamatal: Tuareg people was like a people who f-- was out uh.. this development, all this evolution of all this modernism. So they didn't choose to be out. They choose to preserve their culture.
SIGN
Commune urbane de Tombouctou
MAIRIE
CARD
Mayor's Office
Timbuktu, Mali <music>
01:13:27 Mayor in office
UPPER THIRD
Ousmane Halle-Cisse
Timbuktu Mayor Ousmane: It is difficult because I am the mayor and I am Tuareg. Am I going to do something for some other ethnic group and not help my brother? He should bring his demand to my office. I will look at it, give my opinion, then sign it.
CARD
I sent the paper many times.
No help! Mohamed: I sent the paper many time. No help.
Mamatal: The mayor saying to you that he is Tuareg, he is a- a politician uh.. man. To help people is not to help one, two, or three person. To help a- a people is to help thousand and thousand of person.
01:14:08 Mamatal sitting inside Mamatal: And this is not uh.. "Come in my office, talk me about what you want and what you need." No. This is uh.. to talk about the situation of the people, of a- a people, uh.. old people, the important people, and how we can-- could help them is not just saying, "Come to my office."
01:14:31 Views from moving vehicle
CARD
Government building funded by former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
CARD
Mamatal arrives in Mali's capital city of Bamako in search of help for his people.
01:14:58 People by street side stalls
CARDS
If the government saw this after
I can be treated negatively
I will all the time participate for the Tuareg people..
I like to take this risk.
Because it is necessary to take this risk.
And I will take it all the time. Mamatal: What is possible is if the- the government uhm.. saw this after. I can be uh.. I can be treated negatively.
Woman: Because of your participation in the documentary?
Mamatal: I will all the time participate for the people and for the Tuareg people. I like to take this risk because it is necessary to take. It is necessary to take it, and I will take it all the time
01:15:27 SIGN
Programme d'Appui
Aux Collectives
Territoriales
PACT
CARD
Representatives of Mali North NGO Workers
Mamatal: Is it really because we can't help these people? Uh.. is it really because we don't want to help these people?
Man: You are not the one facing the problem, is that to preserve a culture in a globalized world, heh. So there are so many cultures and all over Africa. You have got in Congo 440 ethnic groups. You have got here in Mali, round about 21, 23 ethnic groups. Of course, it's a lot, a lot of languages, which are about to disappear too.
CARD
For me if you say to me what is the solution by preserving their culture and to have best conditions Mamatal: For me if you say to me, what is the solution?
Man: Mm-hmm.
Mamatal: By preserving the culture to- to uh.. to- to have best condition.
01:15:59 Mamatal talking in PACT office
CARD
First these people have no possibilities for any work.
They have no proposition Man: Mm-hmm.
Mamatal: If I have a prositi-- proposition, first, where the-- where these people have no proposition for any work, for any condition. They have any proposition. They need condition to- to survive, condition, best condition and also to be adapted in the modern life, but to-- by preserving the- their culture.
Man: You- you cannot stay outside of the system. So this is uh.. a permanent conflict, how you open your culture, how you would like to open your culture and how you are forced to open your culture.
01:16:36 Kids walking along dusty road
CARD
I don't like Salah who wears the pants that say Occidental.
UPPER THIRD
Mohamed Alher Ag Almahdi
Tuareg Village Chief
CARD
I say Salah you wear the same as me.
Salah: My father want that there be traditional and be real Tuareg.
Mohamed: I no like Salah. He take the pantalon comme occidental. I no happy. I say, "Salah, you take some pantalon same me." You know, you know. You see me, everywhere I go--
Woman: Tradition.
Mohamed: I have me my traditions.
01:17:00 Salah carrying tea tray Salah: But if I- I stay as Tuareg, as uh.. traditional, I stay desert, I don’t go to school, so I will not help my family and uh.. and village also. This is one exams. First exams, 2012, 2011.
Woman: Wow. What do you think about that? You're way up there?
Salah: Good.
Salah using computer Salah: Now I know how to write and read, so if my father get letter, I can read for him. He just need another one to read for him or to write uh.. or if he want to send an email. I all time write him one email before it, if I was not at school.
01:17:37 Mamatal: Some of the Tuareg here in the city begin to be uh.. really assimilated uh.. 50 years. What do you think uh.. our people were? We- we will lose all our uh.. culture.
Barbara: The French began making excursions into the central Sahara in the late 1800s, and finally, France just came in with automatic weapons and cannons. At that time, the Tuaregs fought with broad swords, lances and uh.. shields, last shields made of addax hide. And so they were easily defeated.
01:18:09 Tuaregs on horseback
CARD
After the French arrived in Africa for colonization the situation changed completely. Mamatal: After when the uh.. the French go arrive uh.. to uh.. in- in Africa for colonization, so the situation sure change completely
Hsen: The French has caused the most harm to Tuareg society, by splitting them among five nations, thereby weakening them, restricting their movements. These are nomads. They-- what they do is move.
01:18:33 Mamatal talking with activist
UPPER THIRD
Tuareg Activist
National Movement of Azawad Activist: Colonialism destroyed the Tuareg people. It destroyed their dignity, their power, their society, their existence.
Barbara: When the French colonized uh.. the Sahara, uh.. one of the first policies they implemented was to end the trans-Saharan caravan trade for the Tuareg, so that after that, Tuareg only began to trade uh.. very short distances in the Sahara
01:19:07 Pack donkeys in Sahara
CARD
Niger River
Mopti, Mali Barbara: This r- really uh.. destroyed their native economy.
<Tuareg music>
Barbara: And the other thing that the French did uh.. which destroyed the Tuareg economy was to tax them. At first, the tax consisted of taking livestock animals from them and reducing their herds.
01:19:34 Tuareg man in yellow outfit Barbara: And you might wonder, why would that make a difference to reduce their herds? They have so many. But uh.. in the Tuareg economy, a certain number of camels, sheep and goats are needed in order to sustain the people. Uh.. they aren't just pets. Uh.. these are milk producing animals. Milk is the focus of Tuareg life.
01:19:55 B&W photo of independence signings Hsen: In 1960, uh.. Mali and Niger had their independence, and so the Tuaregs uh.. before that, wrote to the French in 1958. They said, "We don't want to be part of Mali. We don't want to be split."
CARDS
They want their autonomy or they want to stay French people.
It was more than 300 chiefs in the Sahara who sent this letter.
But they (the French) refused that, exactly. Mamatal: They want their autonomy or they want to stay French people, and it's more than th-- uh.. 300 uh.. chief in the Sahara, who uh.. sent this letter, but they refuse that, exactly.
01:20:25 News broadcast with Firoze Manji
CARDS
Montreal, Canada
Democracy
Now
LOWER THIRD
Firoze Manji
Pambazuka News
Firoze: What we have in- in Mali is a very complex situation. You have massive unemployment, dispossession of their land, dispossession of their jobs. Uh.. but worst of all, uh.. what has happened during these last 30 years has been a- a dis-- political dispossession, so that people feel that their government are more accountable to the-- uh.. to the banks and to the uh.. international uh.... and multinational corporations than they are to their citizens.
<man reading in French>
01:21:03 Man shouting in crowd of people <man shouting>
Interview with Alessandra
LOWER THIRD
Alessandra Giuffrida, PhD
Centre of African Studies
University of London Alessandra: And what is happening with land in Mali is really disturbing, because we know that uh.. there's been a gradual, growing appetite for land, and privatization of land, uh.. which is getting divided and being sold to various foreign companies who have an interest in its mineral resources.
01:21:33 Aerial view of scrub land
CARDS
This region is very rich in oil, and very rich in uranium.
The victims are the simple persons who are in the Sahara Mamatal: This region is very, I think, very rich in uh.. oil, very rich in uranium and uh.. the victim are the simple person who are in the Sahara.
UPPER THIRD
Alius Salvana Archeology Professor, Univ. of Bamako Alius: The project in the North costs millions of dollars. But we don’t see where the money goes.
It’s a project on paper only.
01:22:04 Ambassador in office
CARDS
I don't deny the existence of many forms of corruption
In Mali like in other countries
Al Maamoun: Our problem of uh.. of colono-- I don't deny uh.. the existence of uh.. many forms of uh.. of corruption. In Mali like uh.. in the other uh.. in the-- in the other countries, uh?
Alessandra: Unfortunately, what President uh.. Amadou Toumani Toure did was really to drive the country to d-- ruin and allow narco traffic, allow terrorist networks to proliferate uh.. without control.
01:22:32 Vehicles on dock Jeremy: This is the center of the cocaine traffic from Latin America to Europe. Sixty percent of Europe's cocaine goes through this nexus we're talking about here.
Barbara: It's a multibillion dollar business. It is believed that this drug traffic is connected with Al Qaeda uh.. in Islamic Magreb, and that Al Qaeda controls it, and so it's a very dangerous business uh.. and it's creating a lot of danger for ordinary citizens in the area.
01:23:02 Desert from moving vehicle
LOWER THIRD
Catherine Foley
Policy Analyst, American Security Project Catherine: I think that people would be very shocked to know how vast the area is, but how large of a presence Al Qaeda has in the area, and how quickly that they have sort of created those strongholds.
Activist: Why terrorists came to Mali is because they know it has a weak government. We are like a cow you milk at night but in the daytime you don't care about.
01:23:23 Mamatal inside Mamatal: The first to the Tuareg is peaceful. It's not they want to be peaceful. They are peaceful people and uh.. y- y-- they are not uh... drug. They don't w- work for drug. They do-- are not terrorist. This is the thing. And we know the g-- the uh.. the Mali government know exactly where are the- the terrorist in Mali. They are-- they know where they are, so why they don't want to go to fight them? Why?
02:34:54 Man looking at map
LOWER THIRD
Rudy Atallah
Fmr. Dir. Africa Counterterrorism
Office of Secretary of Defense Rudy: The former Malian government was complicit in the organized crime, drug trade, uh.. and- and using the-- leveraging the militias that these narco traffickers had in order to subdue the Tuareg rebellions.
Hsen: People rebel or resist or fight back uh.. w- whatever you wanna call it, uh.. but the Tuaregs are fighting for what is theirs. When the British controlled the- the American colonies, somebody stood up and said, "We had it with this." They had their tea party, uh.. but the Tuaregs, we call them rebels.
01:24:36 Tuaregs in village Alius: These rebellions were not very well received by the government of Mali. Instead of negotiating they just wanted to destroy the rebellion.
01:24:57 Tuaregs burying body in sand Alessandra: There was a famous operation called Operation Coca G [ph?], that uh.. started from Bamako and was targeting white skinned Tuareg. There- there is still mass graves that need to be undug and that uh.... nobody has ever really talked about.. But there's specific areas where they are located and where you can still find civilians, not Tuareg rebels but civilians, including women and children who were massacred during the 1990s.
01:25:27 Mamatal in large tent Mamatal: Uh.. they uh.. putted them in the-- in the hole and they put uh.. fuel, fire. After, the- the soldier took the- the woman of Tuareg and uh.. it is uh.. it is terrible. It is really terrible thing.
Activist: All 4 presidents have massacred the Tuareg. Not just people they killed children and animals. They poisoned the wells too.
01:26:08 Scenes of Tuareg village Barbara: They were once a self-sufficient people. They were once able to take care of themselves. They had plenty of milk to drink. Uh.. they had freedom on their own land, but today, they're highly controlled by these policies that reduce them economically and that marginalize them politically. They're left out of politics. They don't have a voice in politics.
01:26:30 Exterior buildings in London
LOWER THIRD
Jeremy Keenan
Author, "The Dark Sahara" Jeremy: If we take the period, roughly 1999 to 2003, you had throughout this entire region what I would call a Prague spring. Extraordinary situation, quite extraordinary. I was there the whole time and I was w-- monitoring and recording this and it was amazing. What happened was, uh.. the- the whole area suddenly opened up to the outside world. Tourists could come back in for the first time in nearly a decade.
<music>
01:27:00 Desert festival activities
SIGN
Festival au desert <music>
Jeremy: The internet arrived at the same time, so they could jump their own governments, deal directly with people in Europe. They had completely control of their industry, tourism.
01:27:32 Interview with Jeremy Jeremy: Suddenly, overnight, that stopped. That was the kidnapping by so-called Al Qaeda of tourists. Thirty-two were taken in 2003 and it devastated the- the indigenous economies.
01:27:54 Street vendors
CARDS
They make money by salt, by jewelry, by tee-shirts.
And that's not happening now because of terrorism.
So the terrorism make all that close. Salah: They make money by salt, by jewelry, by uh.. t-shirts and that's not happening now because of the terrorism. So the terrorism make all that close
Rudy: The US interest all along has been fighting terrorism. When the 32 European tourists were kidnapped from southern Algeria, this was a couple years post 9/11. United States was engulfed in a multilateral fight against Al Qaeda.
01:28:31 Militia in training Rudy: The program grew into a $500 million, five year program initially, where a- a total of 11 countries that would receive some level of training or another. Now, when we asked the Mali military, essentially, "Do you want to be involved in counterterrorism?" their immediate answer is, "Yes." Well, you ask the Malian military, you know, "Do you wanna fight Al Qaeda?" the answer is "Yes."
01:28:59 Interview with Rudy Rudy: However, unfortunately, there was never the next question of, "Can you, Mali military, define to us who you think Al Qaeda is?" The entire time, uh.. m- members of the Mali military have always considered the Tuareg as the Al Qaeda, or the threat. Bamako, to date, with all the training they've received, have never for once actually fought the real Al Qaeda that was entrenching itself in northern Mali.
01:29:29 Continue interview with Rudy Rudy: Instead of the international community in Bamako addressing the grievances in real terms, and actually following through with how to deal with these grievances, they basically let things go, and unfortunately, it's created a big problem.
CARD
Mali's military say 47 people have died so far in recent clashes in the north News reporter: This is the nightmare scenario that regional leaders have been worrying and warning about, ever since the fall of Gaddafi in Libya, and that is the return of thousands and thousands of Nigerian and Malian Tuaregs who had served in Gaddafi's ranks, returning to two of the poorest countries in the world, Niger and Mali, countries that don't have the capacity to provide a livelihood for these people.
01:30:04 Mamatal inside Mamatal: Gaddafi say to them, "Come in my country. I will help you. I will give you education. I will give you all." And what happen, Gal-- uh.. Gaddafi involved this Tuareg in his army to fight in Chad, to fight in Liban [French for Lebanon], to fight in many, and after, he abandoned them.
CARD
Amateur video News reporter: This time, the northern Mali rebels tell us that if they're going to fight and die for a cause, they want it to be their own, and that cause, they say, is the creation of a new state in Africa, an independent Northern Mali, which they want to call Azawad, after the Tuareg name for this region.
01:30:40 Mamatal driving Man: [text obscured by timecode] ... meet with a Tuareg rebel leader [text obscured] ... He's chased by drug bandits.
Man: The Tuareg are disappearing in their own land. We love our country and want to stay. There are resources in our land but we are being marginalized. Our land has been taken away from us. We have no choice but to fight for our culture and our land.
01:31:08 Militia in training
UPPER THIRD
Mamatal's father
Tuareg Chief <man shouting commands>
Father: There are different kinds of Tuareg. We don't want any fighting. We just want peace and that's our way of life.
Catherine: This, all of this land right here is Mali. And you can't sort of see the bottom part of it, because that's cut off by the map, but this is the capital, Bamako and this light pink line, all the way around here, is the area that has been claimed by the Tuaregs.
01:31:34 Map of Tuareg land claim Catherine: And the little red bursts are the small cities, or larger cities, including Timbuktu, which have been-- are currently being held.
CARDS
No country in the world recognizes this new state.
No international group will recognize them. Al Maamoun: No country in the world recognizes uh.... this new state, is called uh.. new state. No uh.. internationals will recognize them.
01:31:54 Man in desert
CARDS
Today when the Tuareg want their independence we so no they're terrorists, they're bandits.
We are in the middle of two different problems.
On the right the terrorists and the other part
A government who don't respect its agreements Mamatal: Today when the Tuareg want their own revendication, we say, "No, they are terrorists. They are bandides." They are at the middle of two different problem. In the right, the terrorist, the other part uh.. a government who n-- don't respect their agreement.
News reporter: Renegade soldiers in Mali claim to have seized control of the African country in a declaration on state TV. The mutineers, who referred to themselves at the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State, cited the failure of the government to put down a separatist rebellion in the north as their motive.
01:32:33 Traffic on city streets News reporter: Hours before the TV address, there was sporadic shooting near the presidential palace in the capital Bamako.
<gun shots>
Man: The Security Council reiterates its strong condemnation of the forcible seizure of power from the democratically elected government of Mali, by some elements of the Malian armed forces. The council is alarmed by the presence in the region of the terrorist group, Al Qaeda, in the Islamic Magreb, which could lead to a further destabilization of the security situation.
01:33:10 Man atop tank
CARD
Al Jazeera Exclusive News Reporter: Two days after the Malian army lost control of the historic town to Tuareg rebels, a group of men never seen here before showed up in the streets.
<gunfire>
CARDS
Tuaregs from the MNLA (National Liberation of Azawad) clash with Malian military and Al Qaeda.
A battle for the Sahara has begun.
01:33:34 Militants in streets
CARD
Al Jazeera Exclusive News reporter: Now the future of this town is in the hands of an armed group that says, from now on, all institutions have to function according to Islamic law.
Jeremy: More or less about the time that MNLA was declaring Azawada's independence on April the 5th, at about that time, it was very unclear who was actually running, MNLA, the Islamists or the MNLA. Well, very quickly after that, it was becoming very clear, uh.. although it was very mushy, that the Islamists were getting more and more control and the MNLA were being more and more sidelined.
01:34:03 Jeremy in London
CARD
Al Jazeera Exclusive Jeremy: The MNLA more or less get thrown out of Gao, uh.. along with Timbuktu and De. So the MNLA have been, to put it bluntly, squashed.
Man: Insanity [ph?] reigns supreme here in a town where every private or public institution has been looted or destroyed.
LOWER THIRD
Corinne Dufka
Sr. Researcher, Human Rights Watch Corinne: The looting was uh.. massive and comprehensive. Uhm.. and people described uhm... you know, hospitals, uhm.. being looted. They described uhm.. the ambulances and the uhm.. the motorcycles that were used to take medicines and to evacuate the wounded being stolen.
01:34:36 Injured boy in hospital
CARD
Al Jazeera Exclusive Corinne: In Gao hospital, they described the patients being taken off their beds, uh.. in some cases, still connected to oxygen machines. We also documented a number of cases of going into villages and opening fire, as civilians were trying to flee and a number of men being killed in these-- in these incidents.
01:34:57 Youth being publically beaten News reporter: The local people are suffering. Mobile phone footage shows a teenager being whipped for smoking. The man administering the sharia punishment is said to be a Pakistani.
Corinne: We also documented a number of cases of the abduction of girls and women and uhm.. the sexual violation of girls and women, in which uhm.. they were picked up off the street and taken to locations, sometimes a house that was serving as an informal uhm.. rebel base.
CARDS
We have to understand what is the vision of Ansar Dine and Al Qaeda and AQIM.
Islamic extremists like Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and al Shabaab they don't perceive
This problem of borders like we see it. Woman: A lot of things we are seeing our enemies do we're not used to.
Al Maamoun: We have to understand what is the vision of Anser Dine and the Al Qaeda uh.. and AQMI about that. Extremists of Is-- uh.. Islamic like Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and uh.. al Shabaab, they don't uh.. perceive this problem of borders like we see it, eh?
01:36:01 Ambassador in office
CARDS
There are no borders for them. They want to implement sharia in all the world.
So when he speaks about borders, the borders are not a problem for AQIM.
Their world is starting from Afghanistan, Pakistan and continuing through the United States. Al Maamoun: There is no-- there is no borders for them. They want to implement sharia in all the world. So when-- when he speaks about borders, ah, borders is not a problem for uh.. for AQMI, you con-- because uh.. their world is starting from Afghanistan, Pakistan, continuing through the United States.
LOWER THIRD
Military Leader
Ansar al Dine/Al Qaeda
LOWER THIRD
Omar Ould Hamamha
Military Commander, "Defenders of the Faith"
Omar: When we've conquered France, we'll come to the USA, we'll come to London and conquer the whole world. The banner of Mohammad, peace be upon his head, will be raised from where the sun rises to where it sets.
01:36:34 Map of Africa Rudy: His plain goal is to have that- that base in the Sahara, where he and his people can operate freely, they can train, they can equip, and they can become that conduit where they can push the brand of sharia all over the place.
Tuareg Rebel Tuareg Rebel: The terrorists found this open space like white paper without writing and they are writing what they want.
01:37:02 CARD
390,000 mostly Tuareg refugees flee to neighboring countries fearing Islamic radicals linked to al Qaeda. <music>
CARDS
Mamatal's family leave their campment for Mauritania.
Salah and his family flee to Burkina Faso
01:37:26 Refugee camp
CARD
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Salah: This is the refugee camp from Burkina Faso. This is a big uh.. university that they transform in the refugee camps, you see? A lot of families are here. My family too is here. There is a lot of problem, the Islamists, the MNLA, so these-- all these is problem and uh.. we are really, really angry with this problem, because you know, this problem make us a lot of uh.. things we don't want, like to travel to Burkina with some people, don't have eat, nothing.
01:38:00 Family at refugee camp Salah: So we are here but uh.. we don't know when exactly we will uh.. go back to Timbuktu. Even here we are in the refugee camp. They said we will move for another locality because here is in the middle of the town so it's not safe. Some woman here try it for Mali's cooking, she's preparing it. Because all the people miss their home in Mali. Everyone need peace be in Mali, then they can get back.
01:38:29 Refugee in wheelchair Salah: See, this is an handicapped man, he's here, including to get something. He's coming too from Mali. There's a lot of tent, like a lot of tent. What this? Here you have my father. This is the chief of the refugee from Burkina Faso.
Charity in office
LOWER THIRD
Charity Tooze
Sr. Communications Officer, UNHCR Charity: Our people on the ground say that most of them are Tuareg, so they're being persecuted specifically for their cultural beliefs, their desire for independence.
01:38:02 Charity in office Charity: And so UNHCR is setting up spaces in uhm.. the region to make sure that people are protected and not re-followed to the country where they were persecuted.
<music>
01:38:30 Refugees dancing <music>
Charity: There already isn't enough water. There already isn't enough food. So if that number continues, we're going to see a burgeoning at the seams of the capacity and malnutrition rates skyrocketing and- and cattle dying and, you know, it- it's very dangerous
Woman: I ask myself over and over how did we get to this point. It was impossible, unthinkable, unimaginable what happened. We do not see anything that suggests we can go back in peace.
01:40:10 Gathering at refugee camp Man: Unfortunately this is one of the saddest events in the history of a nation. God wanted us to bear witness to this sad event. Mali not for one instant has forgotten you despite all the problems.
Tuaregs being victimized Man: Tie them down! Tie their feet.
CARD
While government officials assure the refugees Mali cares about them, Malian soldiers attack Tuareg civilians in the desert.
01:40:32 Tuaregs being victimized
CARD
Youtube Video Man: Tie his hands with the turban and tie it now to his feet.
Rudy: Malian soldiers went to a place called Jebili [ph?]. They found uh.. you know, herders, uh.. Tuareg herders minding their own business. They grabbed them. They uh.. they- they g-- they put them on the ground. They hogtied them and they killed them.
Man: Captain, this one has some money.
Man: Bring the money here.
Man: You motherfucker!!
01:40:57 Video of assault on Tuareg people Man: Son of a bastard. We will kill you here! We will kill you all.
<gun shots>
Corinne: We're also extremely concerned about the targeting of light skinned men, uh.. the majority of them Arabs, Tuaregs, some Mauritanians as well, uhm.. who were pulled off of buses as they were trying to flee the north, or- or uh.. taken out of cars and buses or detained uh.. within their villages, or as they were trying to flee.
01:41:24 Tuareg walking down street Rudy : 'Cause Tuareg look different than uh.. Bambaras in the-- in the south. I-- the- the level of racism now is just really bad. It's entrenched and- and uh.. when people see in the south a lighter skinned from the north, they-- you know, they g-- they get angry. They get attacked or vice versa. This all has to be dealt with. And I think it's a crucial peace for the interc-- international community. You don't rebel four times over, you know, 50 years unless you have deep grievances.
01:42:00 News footage of mausoleum destruction
CARD
Islamists destroy UNESCO-protected mausoleums News reporter: Islamist fighters with links to Al Qaeda have further destroyed historic tombs in Mali's Timbuktu, laying waste to the city's 500 year old heritage.
CARD
UN considering resolution to curb Mali unrest
CARD
France begins airstrikes to root out Islamic extremists.
CARDS
Rape outrage
Gun debate
Tech giant's death
Debt fight
War in Mali
Exclusive
U.S. and the war in Mali
Live CNN
Politics
Gov. O'Malley (D-Md.) called for stricter gun control
DOW 18.80 News reporter: War in Mali. A deadly conflict between Al Qaeda-linked militants and the Malian government is escalating and the United States is getting involved.
01:42:30 Rudy riding in car Rudy : Wow. It's getting busy. A lotta people are paying attention. You know, people are dusting off their maps and their iPads and looking for Mali on the map.
CARD
Rudy Atallah on
Al Jazeera TV Rudy : From the US perspective, there are a couple of things that can be done and- and important. One, in the fight on terrorism, tonight I said that we- we will chase Al Qaeda wherever they're at... wherever they're at... wherever they're at. We missed the boat on this and we should've done a lot more in the long run.
01:42:56 Rudy riding in car Rudy : This could've been dealt with a long time ago, but again, you know, it's just a matter of- of priorities, issues going on in- in uh.. other parts of the world that are taking front and center stage and now the Sahel is- is exploding and <sighs>
Catherine: You have Afghanistan, you have terrorism happening there, and you have terrorists in Yemen. And when we're ousting them in other places, you have to question, where are they going? Groups like this do go unchecked and do gain power and momentum. You really never know what will come next.
01:43:39 Mamatal's family in tent <music>
Tichirift: If our unity comes back and we have our own authority, we will be like the past, organized and with our dignity.
01:44:54 Hsen in office Hsen: If they could only be recognized as a separate nation and everyone would work to stabilize the region and root out terrorism from there, and peace would come back.
CARDS
The only hope is that we can accelerate negotiations with the Tuaregs in the north
To unify our ranks against the factors of instability and insecurity in the north. Maamoun: The only hope is that we can uh.. accelerate with uh.. negotiations with uh.... Tuaregs uh.. in the north to unify our uh.. ranks against uh.. the factors of instability and insecurity in the north.
01:44:26 Rudy riding in car Rudy : It's we-- gonna require a lot of arm twisting from the international community to get Bamako on board and then also to make sure that the long term grievances that the Tuareg have had are- are actually dealt with in- in such a way that they actually come to fruition.
Jeremy: But it's not going to be as easy as this. I think some sort of federal type arrangement, some sort of recognition of Tuareg areas, and the UN has the facilities and has the mechanism to do this.
01:44:56 Alessandra in office Alessandra: Unless there is a political will to do that, I don't think uh.. the Tuareg will be able-- Tuareg culture will be able to survive as a culture.
<music>
CARDS
Secretary General Kofi Annan says there can be no security without development and no development without security.
There could be no security and no development without respecting the right of the people. Mamatal: Secretary General of UN Kofi Annan says it could be not any security without development and any development without security. And it could be not any security, any development, without respecting the- the right of the people.
01:45:30 Woman holding babies Barbara: Charles Darwin said that without variation, there can be no evolution.
Man: The beauty of a rainbow is, you see those colors, green, yellow, red. That's what a nation should be like.
01:45:55 Mamatal in stone building
CARD
Mamatal has not been heard from since the crisis began. <music>
CARDS
Salah contracted malaria in the refugee camp.
His family moved to the capital city in Burkina Faso.
CARDS
Identified as Tuareg, his family's possessions were stolen.
His dream of becoming a doctor to help his village is fading.
01:46:30 Village scenes <Tuareg music>
01:46:52 People around campfire
CARDS
Many say how it is important
To protect the environment and animals.
But they ignore or forget that in part of the world
We have to protect some persons
Some human persons. Mamatal: Many says about how it is important to protect vegetables and some animals. But they ignore or forget that in part of the world, we have to protect some person, some human person.
Mamatal: If nothing is done, this culture will simply disappear.
01:47:17 End credits <music>