Saving the songs of the Sahara

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Fadimata Walet Oumar learned how to sing and dance in northern Mali under the light of the desert moon. Her people, the Tuaregs, traditionally lived as nomads on the fringes of the Sahara but successive wars, droughts and famines have fundamentally changed their lives. However her love of music never waned. As a teenager, Fadimata was given the nickname Disco after winning dance battles on the streets of Timbuktu. In 1995 she created a band called Tartit with other women who had been forced to flee into refugee camps due to conflict. It was the first woman-led group in the burgeoning desert music scene and received global acclaim. In 2012, Tuareg culture was put into peril when Islamist militants took over northern Mali and banned music. Fadimata had to flee her homeland for the third time in her life but vowed to return. Viggó Sigurðsson is a rescue man in the Icelandic coast guard. It's a treacherous job - facing roaring winds, rolling seas and ferocious blizzards. And it's Viggo's job to go out in this weather - he drops out of the side of a helicopter and attempts to save people from the sea, the top of volcanos and cracks in glaciers. Saskia Edwards went to meet him in 2017, when this story was first broadcast. Get in touch: [email protected] Picture: Fadimata Walet Oumar performs in 2012 Credit: -/AFP via Getty Images