SA’EDA AL-KILANI is a Jordanian policy advisor and
journalist focused on civil society and human rights. In
addition to writing for several Arabic, English and French
publications, she has worked as a correspondent for
Reporters Without Borders and the Jordan Times. She also
worked as the advocacy director for WAN-IFRA and as MENA
Director for Article 19. She is the author of several books on
anti-corruption and human rights.exhibit called “Rising from Destruction”. One such replica
is the life-size human-headed winged bull that once stood
outside the palace at Nimrud – the former capital of the
Assyrian Empire. The original was flattened by ISIS in 2015.
Specially trained technicians copied the original works from
photographs to create smaller models. The team then used
3D printers and layers of real stone to create the life-sized
replicas. Such commendable efforts and rescue initiatives are
giving rise to a new world of art.
Despite efforts to salvage and recreate the remnants of
ongoing cultural vandalism, the thinking that supports such
demolitions has not dissipated. Moreover, the black market
for smuggled antiquities is flourishing. Efforts at promoting
the abandonment of illegal artefacts trading on the grounds
of moral impetus is weak where integrity is not considered
a worthy bargaining chip.
In the end, it’s not only valuable artefacts that are
threatened: The cultural memory of these parts of the
Middle East is under siege. Ultimately, understanding the
crisis goes beyond an implementation of new legislature:
Addressing and understanding the mentality that condones
such acts is part of the process of seeking solutions. agIMAGE © WIKICOMMONSIMAGE © SHUTTERSTOCKart