The people in the photographs belong to a Tuareg tribe that have their traditional lands in an area north of Timbuktu in Mali. The Tuaregs have become a focal point of the world since the uprising this spring, by Tuareg rebels.
The Tuaregs of northern Mali have become a focal point of the world since the uprising this spring, by the Tuareg rebels MNLA. The situation is further complicated by several fundamentalist Islamic fractions that are participating in the conflict, particularly a group called Ansar Dine that joined forces with the Tuareg rebels. Meanwhile the country has been hard-hit by drought and the risk of starvation is high. The ongoing conflicts makes it hard for humanitarian aid to reach the area.
The Tuaregs are a people with a traditionally nomadic lifestyle that inhabit primarily Mali and Niger but also Mauritania, Algeria, Niger and Burkina Faso. Approximately 5,7 million Tuaregs are spread out over the different countries. They are renowned for the men wearing facial veil but not the women. Most Tuaregs are Muslims but they are also animists; believing that nature is spirited.
The people in the photographs belong to a Tuareg tribe that have their traditional lands in an area north of Timbuktu. Apart from the unrest in the area this group claims to have been strongly affected by climate change during the last decade. They speak of rains falling later in the season, all at one occasion or not at all. The group consider the changes in the climate a potential threat to their entire traditional culture. Now 1800 of this tribes 2000 members have fled the violence and drought to neighboring countries.