heritage in timbuktu began soon after liberation with the help of us go the work including the mausoleum at ben a so u.t.s. ginger bear mosque. with the support of the international community all the buildings have been. reconstructed. but without military protection this part of our world s cultural heritage could not have been preserved. that is one of the better lessons learned from timbuktu. at the savannah institute in bamako the work of preserving the manuscripts which had been interrupted by war could finally be resumed. it s a race against time. every loose leaf collection of documents is given its own box for protection and storage.