In
February 2001, the Taliban invoked a prohibition against the depiction
of living things, and ransacked the museum. In addition to the since-then
refurbished Museum in Kabul, Supreme Commander Mullah Mohammed Omar issued
the destruction of museums in Ghazni, Herat, and at Farm Hadda near Jalalabad.
For Chubai Mustamandy, who uncovered many of the destroyed statues, the
destruction would have been devastating. His prized excavation, the colossal
Buddhist statues of Bamiyan, were soon to be destroyed. By March 12, the
Bamiyan statues were shelled to oblivion on camera to the entire world.
Chatsworth,
California
I
met up with Huvishka, son of the archaeologist who was responsible for
the excavation of some of Afghanistan's greatest sites, including the
Buddhist statues of Bamiyan. We met over rice and chutney before his departure
to Kabul. Huvishka Mustamandy is not only legacy to Afghanistan's most
renowned archaeologist, but to his mother, Mehria Rafiq Mustamandy, one
of the first to seek to save what her husband had brought to the world.
Mehria Rafiq established 'ICSCHA' along with David Kamansky, a curator
in Los Angeles. They developed the first coalition in the war of the antiquities.
"I am going back to my country to see how things have changed. I
miss it, and I haven't been there for twenty-three years. It's still not
the most safe place in the world. Going from Pakistan into Kabul by road
means a lot of warlords and bandits."
"What
will it take to begin the recollection process?" I asked.
"I
don't know how willing the museums across the world are to give this stuff
up. For example, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has some of
the artifacts. In fact, they actually wrote to my mother and said that
they have the artifacts. They said that once Afghanistan is free, they
will give them back to the country."
"So
will they?" I asked.
"We
(The Pacific Asian Museum and 'ICSCHA') tried to get in touch with them
just a few months ago, but they said that in fact they didn't have the
artifacts. But I have the letter to prove that they admitted they have
them. A lot of these museums are just unwilling to give up these artifacts.
You know they are very expensive and valuable."
"What
is the biggest symbol of Afghanistan," I asked, "like the Eiffel
Tower or the Statue of Liberty?"
"Oh,
the Buddhist statues of Bamiyan," Huvishka said, "definitely
the statues."
)
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