Life in Timbuktu
September 25, 2014 12:56 PM Subscribe
Life in Timbuktu: how the ancient city of gold is slowly turning to dust
(a long-form article from the Guardian with an accompanying photo gallery)
(a long-form article from the Guardian with an accompanying photo gallery)
Dear Timbuktu,
Ohh, oh your city lies in dust, my friend.
repectfully,
Ozymandias
posted by markkraft at 1:51 PM on September 25, 2014 [3 favorites]
Ohh, oh your city lies in dust, my friend.
repectfully,
Ozymandias
posted by markkraft at 1:51 PM on September 25, 2014 [3 favorites]
When I was a kid, my parents used 'Timbuktu' to signify the ends of the earth- the farthest from 'here'.
When I was at the State Department in the 80's, Ouagadougou was used as that symbol- the place where you would least like to get stationed. But now Ouagadougou looks green and civilized compared to Timbuktu.
posted by MtDewd at 2:04 PM on September 25, 2014
When I was at the State Department in the 80's, Ouagadougou was used as that symbol- the place where you would least like to get stationed. But now Ouagadougou looks green and civilized compared to Timbuktu.
posted by MtDewd at 2:04 PM on September 25, 2014
“For some people, when you say ‘Timbuktu’ it is like the end of the world, but that is not true. I am from Timbuktu, and I can tell you we are right at the heart of the world.”
— Ali Farka Toure
posted by Nevin at 2:17 PM on September 25, 2014 [9 favorites]
— Ali Farka Toure
posted by Nevin at 2:17 PM on September 25, 2014 [9 favorites]
the fascination for timbuktu stems from its metaphorical status as the most faraway place, the end of the earth. i've always wanted to go, unlikely, but i do have a classic mail episode.
i had a nasty falling-out with a divorce client. he was unreasonable, and he wanted me to do things to his ex which we're not allowed to do; he was coming to my office in the afternoon, and i knew he was going to fire me, so in the morning, i did a kinda juvenile, unprofessional thing, for which i make no apologies.
i removed all the non-essential documents from his file, the ones that could easily be reproduced by a visit to the court clerk, and i stuffed them in a manila envelope, took them to the post office and mailed them to...
Chamber of Commerce
Timbuktu, Mali
he comes in, fires me, i give him the file.
"this is an awfully thin file, where's the rest of it?"
"i sent it to mali."
"who the fuck is molly?"
"mali is a country in africa, it's where timbuktu is."
he reported me to the state bar. state bar was like, he didn't breach any confidences because these are all public documents. he has offered to reimburse you the ten cents/page for recreating the nonessential documents if you pay him the $2000 he says you owe him (this was before mandatory fee arbitration). no further bar action.
i imagined that some african, perhaps in a mud hut, opened that envelope and went "whoa." i don't know if timbuktu actually has a chamber of commerce, but if it doesn't, it should. if california-style divorce litigation ever becomes a thing in mali, you'll know who is responsible, and meanwhile, don't anybody fuck with me or i will MAIL YOUR FILE TO MOLLY!
posted by bruce at 2:21 PM on September 25, 2014 [21 favorites]
i had a nasty falling-out with a divorce client. he was unreasonable, and he wanted me to do things to his ex which we're not allowed to do; he was coming to my office in the afternoon, and i knew he was going to fire me, so in the morning, i did a kinda juvenile, unprofessional thing, for which i make no apologies.
i removed all the non-essential documents from his file, the ones that could easily be reproduced by a visit to the court clerk, and i stuffed them in a manila envelope, took them to the post office and mailed them to...
Chamber of Commerce
Timbuktu, Mali
he comes in, fires me, i give him the file.
"this is an awfully thin file, where's the rest of it?"
"i sent it to mali."
"who the fuck is molly?"
"mali is a country in africa, it's where timbuktu is."
he reported me to the state bar. state bar was like, he didn't breach any confidences because these are all public documents. he has offered to reimburse you the ten cents/page for recreating the nonessential documents if you pay him the $2000 he says you owe him (this was before mandatory fee arbitration). no further bar action.
i imagined that some african, perhaps in a mud hut, opened that envelope and went "whoa." i don't know if timbuktu actually has a chamber of commerce, but if it doesn't, it should. if california-style divorce litigation ever becomes a thing in mali, you'll know who is responsible, and meanwhile, don't anybody fuck with me or i will MAIL YOUR FILE TO MOLLY!
posted by bruce at 2:21 PM on September 25, 2014 [21 favorites]
Good article. It really is one of the saddest and most predictable things, the prejudice and distrust flowing between the many tribes of southern Mali and the Touareg. I was in Mali in the days leading up to the 2012 revolt, and it's all I would hear, folks in the southern part of the country talking about the Touareg in the same dehumanizing manner people in Bulgaria and Romania talk about "Gypsies" (Roma). And the common blanket assumption, fueled by the media, that all Touareg are somehow tied up with MNLA, AQIM, Ansar Dine, and the other splinter groups which followed.
Timbuktu itself was both exactly what I expected and very different. I stayed with a local family there in the days leading up to the final Festival au Désert, and for a few days after, and it felt like quite a long time ... but the people were still so hospitable despite the terrible conditions. I was shown around the gorgeous modern building where many of the ancient manuscripts were being scanned and restored, so incongruous amidst every other structure in the city. Just a few months later, it was ransacked and many of its texts destroyed. The family with which I stayed, after generations of thriving in the city, was forced to flee to Mauritania; they were living in refugee camps there until very recently. Another of my friends just returned with his family to Timbuktu for the first time in almost three years.
It's been a heartbreaking and frustrating time for all of us who left friends behind there. Thank god for Facebook, because otherwise I'd have no regular means of contact.
posted by mykescipark at 2:22 PM on September 25, 2014 [8 favorites]
Timbuktu itself was both exactly what I expected and very different. I stayed with a local family there in the days leading up to the final Festival au Désert, and for a few days after, and it felt like quite a long time ... but the people were still so hospitable despite the terrible conditions. I was shown around the gorgeous modern building where many of the ancient manuscripts were being scanned and restored, so incongruous amidst every other structure in the city. Just a few months later, it was ransacked and many of its texts destroyed. The family with which I stayed, after generations of thriving in the city, was forced to flee to Mauritania; they were living in refugee camps there until very recently. Another of my friends just returned with his family to Timbuktu for the first time in almost three years.
It's been a heartbreaking and frustrating time for all of us who left friends behind there. Thank god for Facebook, because otherwise I'd have no regular means of contact.
posted by mykescipark at 2:22 PM on September 25, 2014 [8 favorites]
Remembered rhyme from childhood, but don't know where it came from:
"From Kalamzoo to Timbuktu is a long way down the track
From Timbuktu to Kalamazoo is a long way to go back"
At the time I had no idea where either place was so it worked.
posted by mermayd at 3:53 PM on September 25, 2014
"From Kalamzoo to Timbuktu is a long way down the track
From Timbuktu to Kalamazoo is a long way to go back"
At the time I had no idea where either place was so it worked.
posted by mermayd at 3:53 PM on September 25, 2014
mermayd, that couplet is from a "Little Golden Book" called The Train to Timbuctoo by Margaret Wise Brown (who also wrote Goodnight Moon). Perhaps you read it as a child?
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 4:57 PM on September 25, 2014
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 4:57 PM on September 25, 2014
"this is an awfully thin file, where's the rest of it?"
"i sent it to mali."
"who the fuck is molly?"
I probably won't make the Molly joke but I swear upon the soul of my father I will start mailing office shit to Timbuktu. If I included a pre-addressed, pre-paid post card acknowledging receipt, think there's any chance they'd return it?
posted by Angleton at 6:06 PM on September 25, 2014
"i sent it to mali."
"who the fuck is molly?"
I probably won't make the Molly joke but I swear upon the soul of my father I will start mailing office shit to Timbuktu. If I included a pre-addressed, pre-paid post card acknowledging receipt, think there's any chance they'd return it?
posted by Angleton at 6:06 PM on September 25, 2014
It sounds as though they'd be much happier if you mailed them some ice cubes.
posted by jenkinsEar at 7:15 PM on September 25, 2014
posted by jenkinsEar at 7:15 PM on September 25, 2014
If I included a pre-addressed, pre-paid post card acknowledging receipt, think there's any chance they'd return it?
I have seen the Timbuktu post office, and no.
posted by mykescipark at 7:37 PM on September 25, 2014 [5 favorites]
I have seen the Timbuktu post office, and no.
posted by mykescipark at 7:37 PM on September 25, 2014 [5 favorites]
But now Ouagadougou looks green and civilized compared to Timbuktu.
Ouaga even has a sushi restaurant now!
posted by solotoro at 5:12 AM on September 26, 2014
Ouaga even has a sushi restaurant now!
posted by solotoro at 5:12 AM on September 26, 2014
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