"A
museum's archaeological artifacts," he says, "aren't just a
repository for scholars and specialists. Museums are storehouses of a
people's cultural heritage. They give its people a sense of dignity, and
express that its history and traditions are valued. Obviously, Afghanistan
needs humanitarian aid...food, medicine, and rebuilding of the infrastructure.
But alongside material aid, a museum preserving their cultural heritage
provides humanitarian aid in the sense of helping to restore the human
dignity of a war-torn people. "
I
asked if Afghanistan deserved to reclaim its lost heritage.
"It
would be shameful if individuals in the west took advantage of lawlessness
and war to acquire archaeological artifacts for their private collections.
Artifacts belong to their countries of origin, and are for their people's
benefit. This is a universally recognized moral code among archaeologists...
but it's hard to enforce. Seldom are artifacts returned since governments
are reluctant to press charges against their own citizens on behalf of
another country."
Afghanistan
was a crossroads of central Asian trade for thousands of years. Its National
Museum contained over 50,000 years of Persian, Indian, Chinese, Central
Asian, Greco-Roman and Bactrian history. But war with the Soviets meant
the destruction of many of the most prized excavated works. Shelled, bombed,
caught in the crossfire.
During
the Post-Soviet Mujahidin Government of 1992 to 1996, three rival factions
squared off at the crossroads of the National Museum of Kabul. In May
1993, the museum was shelled repeatedly. Rockets destroyed the top floor;
incinerating murals, toppling coin cabinets, burning documents. One rocket
melted the museum's support beams, causing the ornate vaulted ceiling
to collapse.
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