No Better Place to Meet Yourself

Moussa Ag Assarid, an avid and gifted storyteller, was born in the Sahara desert in a nomadic camp of Touaregs in the north of Mali, where for generations his family has lived the simple desert life of herding "camels, goats, sheep, cows and donkeys in a kingdom of infinite and of silence." Describing the desert as the perfect "place to meet yourself," Assarid reminisces that there, "every little thing gives happiness. Every touch is valuable. We feel great joy just by touching each other, being together. There, nobody dreams of becoming, because everybody already is."