When Timbuktu was twinned with the small market town of Hay-on-Wye in 2007, it seemed little more than the twee marriage of two places with a strong literary heritage. As home to some of the world's oldest libraries, the Malian town's affiliation with the Welsh "town of books" offered, as councillor Sue Felgate puts it, something of a "romantic connection".
Six years on, and with Timbuktu undergoing an assault by Islamist terrorists, Hay-on-Wye's residents are showing more than a notional concern. After an early recce to Hay's African twin town, Felgate helped set up Jump4Timbuktu, a fair trade charity selling handicrafts by Tuareg artisans. Other charitable efforts have sprung up too, from one-off fundraising events to on-going antenatal projects by local medics. At the height of the recent conflict, Felgate managed to get through by phone to an NGO activist friend in Timbuktu. "There he is, being constantly harassed, and he's asking about my family by name. How can you not engage with someone like that?" she says.
Malian musicians Terakaft and Rokia Traore are on the bill for the Hay festival this May. "It's difficult to get involved in international development issues when you're here and the troubles are far away," says local resident Louise Davies, who helps out with local charity Hay2Timbuktu. "But Hay's Timbuktu link really helps us feel we're doing something positive."
