US aviation security officials have denied destroying a precious traditional instrument belonging to a Malian musician, responding to an incident that sparked outrage online.
Renowned kora player Ballake Sissoko on Tuesday last week touched down in Paris after flying from New York at the end of a US tour to find that his instrument had been “completely destroyed.”
The traditional West African 21-string lute had been dismantled, with a note left by the agents, in Spanish, reading “intelligent security saves time,” Sissoko said on Facebook.
“Would US customs have dared to dismantle a Stradivarius?” the post said, referring to a class of fabled violins.
“These kinds of custom-made koras are simply impossible to replace,” it added.
However, the US Transport Security Administration, which screens luggage for explosives, said in a statement on Sunday that it played no part in the damage.
It added that it knew its agents did not search Sissoko’s instrument case, because “it did not trigger an alarm when it was screened” and was tagged appropriately.
The broken kora generated significant media interest and social media comment after Sissoko suggested that white musicians would have been treated better.
“This is an unprovoked and sad act of aggression, a reflection of the kind of cultural ignorance and racism that is taking over in so many parts of the world,” his Facebook post said.
The musician told reporters on Sunday that his kora was broken by the time he opened his case after landing in Paris and admitted that the airline could have been responsible.
“Maybe the message is too strong and I should have said it differently,” Sissoko said.
However, he added that he was shocked and angry that his kora was beyond repair and that whoever was responsible should have respected it.
“I’m not trying to play the media to get money,” Sissoko said.
Adding to confusion surrounding the affair, the Malian Ministry of Culture released a statement on Saturday saying that it would “do everything legally and diplomatically possible to obtain reparation” for the offense.
However, it removed the statement from its Web site the next day and issued another one that denied the earlier release came from the ministry, without giving further details.
Malian Minister of Culture N’Diaye Ramatoulaye Diallo told reporters on Sunday that her department’s statement on Saturday was simply “fake,” without clarifying further.
Sissoko said that he was contacted by the Malian embassy in Paris about the incident and that he plans to meet government officials when he is next in Mali.
He added that friends had told him the government appeared to have asked for “reparation,” but that he was unaware the statement had been removed.
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