Akli Sh’kka the man of Sahara/ Akli Sh'kka

Akli Sh’kka the man of Sahara

(Short bio)

Akli Sh’kka belongs to the indigenous people of North Africa known as the TUAREG. Besides being an experienced film maker he is now something of an 'all round Media Person'.Equipped as he is with considerable knowledge of North African affairs in general he has exceptional first hand expertise when it comes to Saharan issues. Interacting as he does with many of the countless different nomadic tribes of the Sahara: there are now very few in the whole vast area who have not yet heard of him.

Sahara Tuareg Personality of the Year:

Akli Sh'kka in his traditional outfit

At a big festival held in Libya in 2013 he was chosen in his absence, to be granted the 'honorific' title: 'Sahara Tuareg Personality of the Year’ for his important role in promoting and defending Tuareg Human Rights. Officially invited by Tuareg leaders in Niger to visit that country in 2015, besides receiving great hospitality he was personally welcomed by the Nigerian Prime Minister Mr. Brigi Rafini into his own home. Ever since 2005 he has been actively pursuing the human rights of his people, the Tuareg, on local, national &/or international stages. At first, of necessity inside Qadaffi's Libya, any projects had to take place in secret and by 2009 along with a friend, subsequently 'disappeared’ by Qadaffi's henchmen, he was making a secret amateur film that depicted the tragic plight of the Tuareg in Libya. Once government agents knew of the joint activities he himself was forced to flee the country. That was after several months of brutal imprisonment from which he finally escaped but which still affects him. The film featured the extremely hard circumstances that the Tuareg were suffering on the edge of the Saharan town of Sebha as a result of the policies of the Qaddafi regime, and decades of neglect, maltreatment and marginalisation.

Struggling in Britain and taking early initiatives:

While living in the UK he came to realise how ignorant people are in Britain about North Africa and the Sahara as well as other peoples in general. At the same time he found that nearly everyone had heard of the historical town of Timbuktu, founded by his Tuareg ancestors in the 15th century. In West Yorkshire, where he was temporarily domiciled for four or five years he was helped by a number of good English friends. After a while, with a little help from the late Daniel Russell and his host John Gaukroger he decided to establish a new Association. It was intended among other things to raise public awareness and to educate people about the Tuareg people's history and culture and about the political issues that impinge on them. The name chosen for the new body was 'The Tifinagh Association’ a name related to the ancient Tuareg script which is a form of writing that goes back to around 4,000 BC.

The Imouhag International Organisation for the Sake of Justice and Transparency:

In 2012 he founded a more significant, more effective and more international organisation. Now called: 'The Imouhagh International Organisation for the Sake of Justice and Transparency' it is intended to ensure a single powerful and legitimate voice that can speak on behalf of the whole Tuareg people

and so gain access to the higher levels of international decision-making as well as to the most crucial governmental and non-governmental organisations.

American Journeys:

In 2016 he received official invitations to give public talks at two American Universities. These were about terrorism and about the tremendous dangers that now exist to the traditions and customs of the Tuareg people from ruthless and extremist movements that are currently increasing very rapidly. Shortly thereafter he was invited to return to the USA in order to address the 2016 'UN Forum on Indigenous Peoples' in New York. While back in America he was privileged to meet the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon.

The role in the Libyan Revolution:

Not long after the start of the so called 'Arab Spring', early in the year 2011, revolutionary change reached Libya. Mr. Sh'kka was the first Tuareg to become actively involved in activities to promote a Libyan Revolution. Being himself of course from the South of Libya he was able to provide strong and

articulate verbal support towards the overthrowing of the 4-decades-long Qadaffi Regime, thanks to his ability to pro-actively use existing radio and TV channels. He quickly declared his strong support for democratic change in Libya. Media interviews on a daily basis soon resulted and quickly proliferated. Many of them were on top TV & Radio news channels, and they continue to this day from time to time. Channels have included BBC TV: both English and Arabic channels, BBC Radio 4, Al Jazeera: also in Arabic as well as English, France 24, Russia Today, Voice of America, RFI Radio, as also a lot of other stations. On several occasions, essentially on a voluntary basis, he has contributed talks and opinions to briefings and exploratory seminars or discussions at the UK Foreign Office. These have been mainly about African security issues particularly in relation to Libya.

Helping to stop a tribal war in Libya:

In 2015 a tribal war took place between certain Tuareg tribes and Black African Toubou people from the South of the Sahara. Thanks to good contacts on both sides Akli Sh'kka was able to initiate a peace campaign. A sustained attempt to stop the fighting and to call upon both sides to lay down their arms and come together peacefully for negotiations was successful. The calls were heard and found support, or at the very least consent, on both sides among those involved in the conflict. Akli himself was chosen to lead the first of two rounds of peaceful negotiations between the conflicting tribes. The talks took place in Qatar, under the supervision of the Qatar Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. A month of continual negotiations led to the declaration of a ceasefire. A good agreement was signed and subsequently implemented by both parties, with complete success at least up to present.

The Voice of Imouhagh Radio:

As a consequence of considerable ongoing involvement with media and human rights matters Akli was soon able to raise his game and realise some more ambitious goals. His recognition of the importance of good public relations grew as he realised the extraordinary influence of good media operations on people's lives and thinking, and as he became aware of the possibility of his influencing real change for the better. He started an internet radio operation in his mother tongue Tamasheq. He wished to call on his

people to really beware of all involvement in terrorist-related matters and to try to distance themselves from the truly dangerous 'bad guys' namely ISIS and Al Qaida. Using radio felt to be a good start but he gradually realised that relatively few of the nomadic Tuareg currently have ready access to the Internet. Only a handful could listen to V.I.R. broadcasts, despite the well thought out mix of popular North African music with informative and educational news and talk programmes.

Toumast TV: the first ever Tuareg TV:

Toumast TV logo

For the first time in history extremist Islamic terrorism is now flourishing around the Sahara region, increasing rapidly day by day. Although the Tuareg are well known for relative laxity in regard to the Islamic faith they have an unusually high respect for women within traditional culture. Women can hold highly respected positions in society despite the fact that some uneducated young women, as well as men, join forces with extremist groups as of course do others of different ethnicities in the region. When Akli became aware of the dangers he asked himself what could be done. His response can be summed up in the words 'Media! Media! Media!’. He organised a campaign to support a personal 'Grand Projet' using his internet radio service ‘Voice of Imouhagh' as well as various social media. He used his personal Facebook page and also Youtube, and Watsapp groups, and called on Tuareg elders throughout the Sahara as equally on educated Tuareg youth to help establish a dedicated TV channel. Hundreds of Tuareg volunteers in Libya, Niger, Algeria, Mali and around Europe collected donations and contributions to make "Toumast TV" possible and to contribute to an attempt to help build a new identity for their hitherto hidden and oppressed or subordinate nation. After six months of campaigning half a million dollars were collected and Toumast was launched using the 'Niles' Satellite as well as the Internet. Within six months of launch, an estimated 30 million people were viewing the new channel, either in the Sahara or in other parts of North Africa or Europe. Toumast then started to get more than 6 thousand SMS each day from all over the region. Unfortunately however, certain countries like Algeria did not at all like the idea of the Tuareg having a voice of their own, and one as well that could be easily heard and that might become quite influential. The outcome as a result was that the Algerian authorities first of all blocked all SMS's originating in Algeria and followed that up by putting pressure on Toumast and the station’s administration in an attempt to close it down. When they failed to get anywhere with these tactics they complained about Nilesat - the medium through which the company was broadcasting - and demanded in turn that they be shut down. As a result of all those machinations Toumast was finally obliged to stop using Nilesat but was nevertheless able to switch to broadcasting through an alternative satellite: Eutelsat. Following further unsuccessful attempts to close down that avenue, the Algerian authorities next invited the Founder/General Director Akli Sh’kka to visit Algeria. All their invitations were however turned down. Unfortunately there was not to be a happy ending to th saga: a year and a half after broadcasting their first TV programs the station did in fact eventually have to close down, simply due to the lack of adequate financial resources and any promises of enough funding to stay in business. Huge numbers of people were saddened by the closure: many people had actually named their children after 'Toumast' and hundreds of poems had been composed, many of them in praise of founder Akli and his work, as also songs sung by famous Tuareg bands like Tinariwen. The success of Toumast TV can be attributed to its varied programs in the Tuareg language, the only language which all Tuareg nomads speak even if some may also have other languages like Arabic and French. The chief purpose of the channel had been to educate and enlighten Tuareg people, with a particularly emphasis being on combating the new wave of terrorism. It manifestly threatens the unique precious and ancient culture of the Tuareg, with their many special traditions, as well of course as peace, democracy, and stability in the whole Sahara region.