Destroying Cultural Heritage: The failure to protect artifacts from extreme groups
Tuesday, February 23| 12:00-1:00pm
Foley Speaker’s Room | 308 Bryan Hall
North Africa and the Middle East are home to ancient cultural artifacts that stretch back to the dawn of civilization. Today, these treasures face destruction and theft from a variety of extremist groups.
Dr. Joris D. Kila discussed how global policies are failing to deal with this escalating crisis of cultural heritage protection. Dr. Kila offered his perspective as a conservationist in the realm of cultural heritage. As a Lieutenant Colonel for the Dutch Army, Kila was able to express the necessity for many facets of government such as military, legal, financial, and strategic communications departments to work with anthropologists, archaeologists, and other experts in order to preserve cultural artifacts during war time.
Kila expressed the poor execution on the part of international organizations. These institutions have failed to protect cultural artifacts for a variety of reasons. The one especially astonishing fact is that the International Criminal Court cannot prosecute the al-Assad regime of Syria for the destruction of ancient sites as this state rejected becoming a member of this organization and therefore not subject to the terms and conditions of membership. Other cultural protection agencies are simply too bureaucratic in nature and, as Kila says, “want to avoid risks” and so do not properly take action when sites are targeted. Such institutions don’t do the emergency assessments needed as they claim to lack funding. Kila voiced particular disappointment in the UNESCO office for intangible artifacts, the department that concerns itself with the preservation of a culture’s language, dance, and music.
The importance of protecting artifacts stems from the same reason that they are targets for destruction: “Cultural heritage is a form of identity,” according to Kila. The act of ruining an artifact becomes a crime against humanity, as it is a form of psychological warfare where the removal of a cultural monument, Kila says, ultimately results in the “destruction of identity.” As generations continue and no longer have the memory of such artifacts, they lose touch with that element of their culture— the reason why their group had an attachment to such an expression of heritage.
Cosponsored with the WSU School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs; the College of Arts and Sciences; Graduate Student Association; Dept. of History; Dept. of English; and the George and Bernadine Converse Historical Endowment.
Contributor: Shantara Pintak