The Man Who Saved Manuscripts

Dr. Abdel Kader Haidara with boxes of manuscripts                   Eva Brozowski

Timbuktu's historical documents, some dating back to the 12th century, almost went the way of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, Afghanistan, the giant statues that were dynamited into oblivion by the Taliban in 2001. As Islamist extremists in Mali began destroying that country's shrines, one brave man took the lead and found a way to save most of the precious manuscripts by having them smuggled out of the area, little by little ~ and just ahead of the rebels' torches: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22704960