“The history is Mali is unique and very rich. It goes back to the 12th century with the building of empires like ‘L’empire du Mali,’ [the Mali] Empire with Soundiata Keita. And after Soundiata Keita the empire lasted and was prosperous through the 15th century in West Africa. And Malians are very proud of their history, and you will get fed up with it, but they will keep on repeating and going back to their past and the heroes in their lives [and] how they made them proud and who they are today as Malians. As a matter of fact, Mali stands for hippo, and this was a name given by Soundiata Keita many, many years ago in the 12th century when he conquered and built up this empire.”