Blue people of Mali

The Tuareg rebels of Mali are sometimes called the Blue People because the indigo used in some traditional robes and turbans dye their skins dark blue. Historically nomadic Berber people who live in the Sahara and Sahel regions of Libya, Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, which they call Azawad. When camels were introduced into the Sahara 2,000 years ago, the Tuareg became the main operators of the trans-Saharan caravan trade in commodities such as salt and gold Lost out when trade switched to the Atlantic Ocean. The Tuareg in Mali say they face discrimination because they are light-skinned and have been neglected by the government in far-off Bamako. They prefer to call themselves themselves the Kel Tamasheq or speakers of Tamasheq – their language which has its own alphabet.