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278 CHAPTER 6camps at the Mali-Mauritanian border. 47 Without wanting to trivialise or diminishthe refugee problem, being a nomad refugee had some advantages. As theconflict dragged on, many fled in a pre-emptive attempt to save their lives andpossessions. They brought part of their herds, their tents and goods with them.Although the living conditions in the camps were harsh, they were not muchdifferent from those the refugees were used to. The refugees were often withoutmedical assistance and diseases such as cholera, smallpox and tuberculosis tooktheir toll, but many had been without medical assistance in Mali duringpeacetime as well. Food remained a problem. Just as during the droughts, reliefrations were primarily based on the surplus production of other countries andwere often inappropriate to Tamasheq dietary habits. The UNHCR even shippedcanned herrings to the camps, which for many was their first ever encounterwith fish. As the conflict continued, the camps started more and more to looklike Tamasheq and Bidân villages, waiting for better days. The end of the conflictand a series of particularly good rainy seasons in the North led most refugeesto return of their own accord, without much assistance.Attacks from the rebel forces at the villages on the banks of the Niger, suchas Djebock, Bamba and others, understandably created resentment, panic andgrief over the victims, and hatred towards the Kel Tamasheq. The resultingpogroms against Tamasheq civilians led to avenging counter strikes by the rebelmovements, which often took the form of attacks against commercial andprivate traffic on the road between Gao and Hombori. Gao in particular sufferedunder the rebellion. The rebellion effectively blocked the international tradeover the main roads. At the village of Hombori, in the Niger Bend, transportershad to halt at night as use of the road was only allowed by daytime. FromHombori to Gao, cars drove in convoys under obligatory army escort, whichhad nevertheless to be paid for. Transport from Algeria to Gao had come to ahalt in 1990, and gradually picked up again in 1992. With the conflict betweenARLA and MPA in 1994, traffic between Algeria and Gao was again largelydisrupted as the main road to Algeria goes through the Adagh. As the Bidânmerchants in Gao and Timbuktu had better connections with the rebelmovements, they were capable of partly attracting the remaining trade fromtheir Songhay competitors. The main backers and funders of the MouvementPatriotique Ganda Koy that would come as a reaction to the rebellion couldtherefore be found among the wealthier Songhay merchants of Gao. One of theco-founders and main advocates of the Ganda Koy was Ali Bady Maïga, owner47Based on ‘Le chemin de retour et de l’espoir est ouvert pour nos réfugiés’, L’Essor,08/04/1992; and Baqué, ‘Des Touaregs doublement dépossédés’, Le Monde Diplomatique,June 1992.