Fighting to Keep the Past Alive

Randy Kennedy’s New York Times article, Scholars Call for U.N. to Ban Trade in Syrian Antiquities, talks about the recent increase in looting and trading of invaluable artworks and antiquities from all six of the World Heritage sites in Syria. More than 80 scholars signed an open letter to the U.N. expressing their anger and concern over the growing trade that is taking away from Syria’s cultural identity. These artifacts are representative of Syria, the once cultural and artistic hub of the world, and instead are being “turned into weapons of war.” The recent uprisings and gaining momentum of ISIS in Iraq and Syria have led to a surge in the oppression of artistic talents and the trading of antiquities in order to fund extremist groups such as ISIS and al-Nusra.

Screen Shot 2014-10-01 at 11.15.03 PM — Ransacked hotel across from a World Heritage Site

All six World Heritage sites are in critical danger and have suffered significant damage. ISIS militants are starting an intensive, fast-paced initiative to dig up historic sites. They use bulldozers to excavate artifacts before passing them on to middlemen who sell it to buyers around the world. This illicit trafficking of artifacts has spiked since the ongoing conflict that began earlier this year; ISIS has now widened the range of antiquities from jewelry and pottery to pieces of mosaic floors and precious metals. The money collected from sales is used to finance the extremists cause and wage war in Syria in turn destroying both the past and the future.

Site of digging and looting at one of the ancient cities

I think it is very important that prominent archeologists and academics are speaking up and trying to gain international attention in order to ban the trade that is slowly diminishing what remains of Syria’s past. In 2003, the U.N. Security Council banned the trading of artifacts looted in Iraq, and hopefully now it can do the same for Syria. Condemning these heinous acts would stress to the international community the importance of preserving a culture’s history and could potentially eliminate the unlawful trading of all Syrian artifacts. It is crucial that this ban is approved before it is too late, or soon Syria will be stripped of its identity and heritage and all that will remain will be war-torn land and vague memories of its history. If you support the cause and want to protect Syrian identity, sign this petition to ban the international trade of Syrian antiquities: https://www.thesyriacampaign.org/en/actions/save-history

Ann Privorotskiy says:

October 2, 2014 at 2:31 am

I think that the treatment of these artifacts as merely ways to get more financial assistance for war is awful. Despite how obvious that is, I can’t think of any other adjective to describe this situation. Not only is it inconsiderate to the Syrian community, but it is also ignorant. These antiquities have value that will last a lifetime, the war that ISIS is promoting cannot compare. Whereas the war ISIS is attempting to finance is ephemeral, these Syrian artifacts have deep value and meaning, and will continue to have a significant importance to Syrian culture. ISIS is robbing Syria of its cultural identity, and as with any situation involving abuse of power, I think international attention is of key importance. These antiquities have a story and depth behind them and to force Syrians to give that up isn’t right. There will always be other methods of raising money, however the loss of these antiquities will hurt the identity of the Syrian culture forever. I think that international attention is the first step in stopping this inappropriate theft of antiquities.

stephenesses says:

October 2, 2014 at 1:11 pm

The militants of ISIS have shown a complete disregard for many important things. Obviously, the stealing of homes and murder of people in unimaginable and is terrible. This illustrates further that not only do they have a disregard for human life, they also have a disregard for human culture. It is important to be open to all ideas and all different types of people, something that all terrorist groups are completely against. This reminds us to keep an open mind, and not to judge or stereotype, that we should allow all people to live peacefully and happily even if we do not agree with them.

Sydney Marino says:

October 3, 2014 at 10:01 pm

It is very shocking, at least to me, that ISIS is digging up these artifacts to sell. I wouldn’t even think of selling a countries’ artifacts to fund a cause. They are being very irresponsible, culturally, to the country and also disrespectful. . They say they are doing the “right thing”, but selling a countries’ culture is not. It’s also dangerous, historically. When people in the future look into these items, they won’t know where they came from or the real history behind it. The artifacts could even be lost forever. Also, I don’t know if banning the trade of these items would make an impact. How would they regulate it? Would people follow it? I feel that when you make something illegal, it just ups the price tag and moves it to a much darker, more dangerous, market. In total, ISIS just needs to be stopped. Some way, some how. If not Syria will not only lose it’s artifacts, but its identity.

layanahnsouli says:

October 5, 2014 at 6:27 pm

Unfortunately, during times of war and political chaos, people tend to take advantage of the disorder to accumulate wealth in unlawful ways. When an international crisis is going on, nobody pays attention to the house robbery. It is with this logic, that people are able to get away with such heinous acts. You make a good point about the ill-fated future of Syrian culture and the campaign you linked is a great way to combat it. It is unfortunate that such crimes are characteristic of political instability.

krystalau says:

October 6, 2014 at 11:18 am

I think it is so sad that ISIS would steal these artifacts and sell them just to make a profit to assist the war. It is so wrong to steal another country’s artifacts, like Sydney said, beside stealing their artifacts, ISIS is stealing their identity and history. I believe this can affect the future, pieces of Syria’s history will never be passed down and it could be forgotten. No one is going to remember what those artifacts are and what they represent. The artifacts should go back to the original country and placed in a museum. I hope the ban will be placed as soon as possible.