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En Afrique, quand un vieillard meurt, c'est une bibliothèque qui brûle.

In Africa, when an old man dies, it is a library that burns.

When an elder dies without their knowledge being recorded, an entire lifetime of oral memory and tradition is lost forever.

Amadou Hampâté Bâ, Mali

Source: Amadou Hampâté Bâ, address to the UNESCO General Conference, Paris (1 December 1960)

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