Kalashnikovs were burned in public in Timbuktu in 1996. At that time the “Flame of Peace” stood as a symbol for the end of the Tuareg rebellion that was suppressed by means of bloody massacres. The rebels then put down their weapons. TOUMAST – GUITARS AND KALASHNIKOVS tells the story of the Tuareg tribe through the eyes of protest singer and former freedom fighter Moussa ag Keyna. Moussa comes from the Azawagh Valley on the border between Mali and Niger. Today he is a musician, author and songwriter. He lives in Paris and travels the world. Between tours he returns to the land of his youth. In the early 1990s, when he was barely 20 years old, Moussa carried a Kalashnikov. Like most people his age Moussa was a rebel, determined to liberate his people from the oppressive governments of Mali and Niger. During a skirmish, Moussa suffers a severe leg injury and he sees many of his comrades in arms die. With them he had played guitar and created the soundtrack to his people's rebellion. The musician-guerillas named themselves Toumast, meaning „identity“ in the Tuareg language Tamashek. Moussa decides to revive the band to immortalize his comrades and his people. He has traded his Kalashnikov for a guitar, but he's still fighting for the same thing: a life in freedom and without.
Moussa has swapped his Kalashnikov for a guitar. The former freedom fighter is now a protest singer.
Kalashnikovs were burned in public in Timbuktu in 1996. At that time the “Flame of Peace” stood as a symbol for the end of the Tuareg rebellion that was suppressed by means of bloody massacres.
The rebels then put down their weapons.
TOUMAST – GUITARS AND KALASHNIKOVS tells the story of the Tuareg tribe through the eyes of protest singer and former freedom fighter Moussa ag Keyna.
Moussa comes from the Azawagh Valley on the border between Mali and Niger. Today he is a musician, author and songwriter. He lives in Paris and travels the world. Between tours he returns to the land of his youth. In the early 1990s, when he was barely 20 years old, Moussa carried a Kalashnikov. Like most people his age Moussa was a rebel, determined to liberate his people from the oppressive governments of Mali and Niger. During a skirmish, Moussa suffers a severe leg injury and he sees many of his comrades in arms die. With them he had played guitar and created the soundtrack to his people's rebellion. The musician-guerillas named themselves Toumast, meaning „identity“ in the Tuareg language Tamashek. Moussa decides to revive the band to immortalize his comrades and his people. He has traded his Kalashnikov for a guitar, but he's still fighting for the same thing: a life in freedom and without.