Mali oder das Ringen um Würde: Meine Reisen in einem verwundeten Land

by Charlotte Wiedemann

Erkundung einer unbekannten afrikanischen WeltCharlotte Wiedemann nimmt den Leser mit auf ihre Reisen und lässt ihn tief eintauchen in eine unbekannte afrikanische Welt. Zerrissen zwischen der ruhmreichen Vergangenheit und der politisch unsicheren Gegenwart, zwischen dem Reichtum vergangener Tage und der Armut heute suchen die Menschen in Mali voller Stolz nach ihrem eigenen Weg in die Moderne. Ein intensiver, ein ermutigender Blick auf dieses Land in der Sahelzone.Mali gehörte einst zu den Zentren islamischer Wissenschaft und Kultur, das sagenumwobene Timbuktu war eine Handelsmetropole der alten Welt. Heute leidet das Land an Armut und Abhängigkeit, in jüngster Zeit wurde es obendrein durch Rebellion und Krieg geschwächt. Dennoch passt Mali nicht in das Klischee vom scheiternden Afrika. Charlotte Wiedemann, die das Land viele Male bereist hat, beschreibt eine Gesellschaft, die ihre Werte von Solidarität und Toleranz in den Wirren der Globalisierung zu verteidigen sucht. Ihre eindringlichen Reportagen zeigen Menschen, die um ihre Würde und Identität ringen – und sich gegen die Bevormundung durch den Westen ebenso wehren wie gegen einen fundamentalistischen Islam. Die Journalistin erzählt so behutsam wie kenntnisreich; auch deshalb wird sie von Autoren wie Rafik Schami und von Kolleginnen wie Carolin Emcke gleichermaßen geschätzt.

Genres: Nonfiction, Africa

305 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 8, 2014

Reviews

[Friederike Knabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book in all respects. It is very well written and provides an engaging account of Charlotte Wiedemann's travels and of the people she met. "Mali or the wrestling for dignity" is regrettably not yet available in English (or French). The subtitle calls it "travels in a wounded country". While this an apt description, Wiedemann's book is a lot more. The author shares her thorough analysis of the current situation in Mali (post northern troubles), basing her assessments on in depth research into the rich and many faceted history of the country and its different peoples. She recounts her numerous in depth interviews with Malian experts and many local people.

Each chapter tackles a specific aspect of the fundamental challenges facing Mali, or of a paticular region or a local development of interest. Her personal engagement and deep empathy for the communities and people she meets speaks out of every sentence. Her critique of long standing western aid policies and strategies toward Mali is well argues and substantiated by examples. The Mali goverments also carry responsibilites and she argues her stand expertly. Finally, she tells the stories of many individuals and does so at a very personal level. Sometimes you feel as if you were sitting with her and her counterparts under the big mango tree, taking in the words and the atmosphere she is so good at describing.

This is a must read for anybody concerned with or interested in Mali, its rich history and cultures, as well as the root causes for its current struggles. It is also an essential read for international aid policy makers and implementers for Mali (hopefully it will be translated soon into English) and the Sahel Region.

[*•.♥.•* Fleur Rebelle *•.♥.•*]

Heute ist Mali der drittgrößte Goldexporteur Afrikas und zählt trotzdem zu den ärmsten Ländern der Welt. -_-

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is half a political and historical book about Mali and half about the authors experiences travelling the country. I thought the personal aspects were interesting and the tidbits of cultural information and history about Mali was fascinating, especially since I hardly knew anything about the country. I wasn't a big fan of some the political conclusions she draws because I never felt like I got the whole picture and I felt a little preached to. Of course, since this is coming from her own experiences this is going to be a little biased but even reading what she writes about this complicated country, I found some of her conclusions a little hard to swallow and not well-argued for. I understand that if democracy is "imported" in from the West that in itself might make it harder to properly implement, but you might also say, that if you implement a sham democracy without any proper education system for the voters, it seems a bit too simple to say it failed to function because it didn't originate with the people.

This book is from 2014, so it doesn't include the latest Russian-supported military takeovers, but since it's less of a history of the country and has more of "short essays" feel, you can still learn something despite some context being dated. This is a depressing book, without simple answers to the country's woes that really makes you feel for its inhabitants. There was nothing about climate change in the book but I kept wondering how this might make the situation even worse.