Episode details
World Service,1 min
'I wrote this to say, let me speak my language.'
麻豆社 Music on the World Service with Cerys MatthewsAvailable for over a year
Baaba Maal highlights the importance of speaking and learning African languages. The fact that the authorities only taught Arabic and French inspired him to write Demgalam - My Language. This prompted Mauretania to ban him and his music for seven years. Image: Baaba Maal (L) speaks to villagers in Dolol in 2012 during a tour in northeastern Senegal Credit: Getty
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