The government of Mali has enjoined Issa Mohammed, a Tuareg from the region of Gao, to locate, reclaim and engineer the return of thousands of valuable manuscripts and works of art which it claims have been illicitly sold or taken from their places of origin in various regions of the country. According to Mr. Mohammed, these priceless works are then sold by foreigners on the international market at a huge profit while their rightful owners, having been pressured into selling pieces of their cultural heritage at rates far below what the market will bear, can barely afford to feed and educate their children .
