Abandoned

 

 

In September's edition of faith4life we carried a feature by Tearfund: 'Niger.A Dry and Thirsty Land'. It told how Tearfund is successfully responding to the seemingly hopeless situation of the nomadic Tuareg people, the blue men of the desert. In the Mali language they are called the Tamasheq, whose name means 'abandoned by God'. In this edition, Wycliffe Bible Translators tell us of Noukh Ag Infa Yattara, a Malian pastor who knows they are not.

 

To those who were called Not-My-People I will say, "You are my people," and they will answer, "You are our God."-Hosea 2:23

 

The desert is full of surprises.

 

Only 15% of the Sahara is sand. Each year millions of tons of it are blown across the Atlantic and over Europe by the harmattan, the hot breath of the desert that perpetually erases and redraws the landscape. Travel through its shape-shifting sands, mountains, rocky plateaus or scrub is measured in days rather than miles. Desert dwellers like the 700,000 nomadic Tamasheq navigate by the rising and setting sun, the stars, seemingly insignificant landmarks, and even by the varying smell of the sand. Historical evidence supports the belief that the Tamasheq were once Christian-until Islam swept across North Africa, because they had nothing to guide them. Their name in Arabic, Tuareg, means 'abandoned by God'.

 

In the desert, lonely trees can have roots 100 metres long. They seek, ever deeper, a source from which to survive. Their exposed branches and bark weather the relentless sun and blistering attacks from scouring, wind-blown sand. Like such trees, two Malian pastors are growing deeper in their faith and have found an everlasting Source. One is Noukh, who knows they are not abandoned by God.

 

 

 

The forgotten people 

It all started with a boy's eagerness for a biro. In fact, Noukh Ag Infa Yattara was so determined, he endured great hardship in order to get one.

 

Like other Tamasheq children, Noukh was kidnapped from his nomadic people in 1959 and forced by the French authorities to attend school in Timbuktu. While the desks had ink-well pens, he noticed that some classmates owned biros. Nearby, the Evangelical Baptist Mission station was giving them away - sort of. To get one, you had to memorise four Bible verses.

 

Noukh's desire for his own biro overcame his Muslim fear of impurity by associating with infidels. So he won his pen, despite a beating from an Imam when the boy asked him questions about Christians. "Christianity is only for white people", relatives told him.

 

Four years later, Noukh went to a Mission Bible camp. He was struck by all the non-white Christians there. Realising that race and language excludes no one, he received Jesus Christ as Lord.

 

When Noukh returned to Timbuktu, his father tied him up for a week, demanding he renounce Christianity. But the boy could not deny the peace and joy he had found, so his father threw him out. In the street, people shook their fists and threw stones at him. "Through that hostility I heard God's call to serve him full-time," says Noukh.

 

Though eventually allowed back into his family, Noukh was mistreated. Aided by an Imam, Noukh's disgraced mother decided to poison him. Miraculously, Noukh was unharmed but the Imam fell ill and died! "Be careful with Noukh," he warned. "A big spirit lives in him." Noukh's family and others started to take his faith seriously.  

 

Fast forward to young adulthood: after four years of training at a Bible institute in Ivory Coast he started full-time ministry in the north of Mali. In 1989 he felt a deep desire for a clear translation of God's word for his people. His request to Wycliffe's sister organisation SIL led to the translation of the New Testament.

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