Mali: Marionette festival carries on in spite of fuel crisis
Mali’s annual marionette festival took place in the streets of the capital, Bamako, in spite of ongoing political tensions and a lingering fuel crisis, AP News reported on 11th November.
Rendez-Vous Chez Nous (translating to “come to us” or “meet at our place”) is a three-day festival organized by the Nama marionette and dance group. The popular festival is an annual tradition that sees Malian musicians, artists, craftsmen, dancers and puppeteers gather together to celebrate cultural diversity in Mali.
This year’s festival was reported to contain a parade of giant marionettes marching through the streets as dance performances, concerts and plays were held from November 6th to 8th.
The ninth annual marionette festival occurs amid Mali’s slow political breakdown as the conflict between the country’s military government and Islamist militant groups has reached a boiling point this year, causing mass fuel shortages.
This ongoing fuel crisis has been the result of a blockade campaign from one of the country’s most prominent jihadist coalition groups, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).
Despite the military junta’s leader, Assimi Goïta, responding to the blockades and fuel shortages, his solutions placed responsibility in the hands of individual civilians to take less journeys and reduce their fuel usage instead of suggesting that the military government will crack down on JNIM’s activities. Despite this, Malian civilians came together in collective joy during the festival as an act of resistance to the darkening political environment.
“We are artists, we fight through our art”, the festival director, Yacouba Magassaouba, claimed. “We are committed, and we will not abandon our activities because cancelling this festival would mean that the jihadis have won.”
As people flee Mali, and the African Union Commission calls for international action, the general population’s enthusiastic participation in this year’s marionette festival serves as a powerful demonstration of collective strength. Forms of culture continue to shine in the darkness of the current fuel crisis. While it is unclear whether the Malian government will be able to resolve mounting pressure from Jihadist groups, the citizen population of Mali have shown clear resilience in trying times.
AP News, Maghrebi.org
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