ARLIS/NA has joined with 29 other organizations as signatories to a letter
sent to Andrew S. Natsios, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID), asking that the recent destruction of
Iraqi cultural property be given high priority alongside other aspects of
the US government's recovery and reconstruction effort. The text of the
letter is copied at the bottom of this message. USAID's current activities
and RFPs (such as contracts recently given to Bechtel) are described on
their website at http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/activities.html.
In other news, Helen J. Wechsler (Director, International and Ethics
Programs, American Association of Museums), on Tuesday forwarded the
following report to the listserv of the US Working Group for Iraq Cultural
Heritage:
The following is from Ambassador Limbert (Office of Reconstruction and
Humanitarian Assistance):
>
>
The National Library has been looted and burned, and the building is
probably a total loss. The staff estimates, however, that only about 10
per cent of the holdings were lost, and many documents and books were
taken to mosques for safekeeping.
>
>
The contents of the "Manuscript Center" (formerly known as the "Saddam
Manuscript Center") are safe and well-defended.
>
Also, on the front page of today's NY Times:
Loss Estimates Are Cut on Iraqi Artifacts, but Questions Remain
By Alan Riding
Irreplaceable antiquities were looted from the National Museum of Iraq
last month, but the losses seem to be less severe than originally thought.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/01/international/worldspecial/01MUSE.html
About the libraries, the article says:
The National Center of Books and Archives, also known as the National
Library, was destroyed by fire, although Mr. Limbert said he had heard
that 90 percent of its books and documents had been removed for
safekeeping. The Awgaf or Religious Endowment Library, however, was
burned, and it lost 6,500 Islamic manuscripts. The Central Library of
Baghdad University and the Science Academy were also looted and destroyed
by fire.
One piece of good news is that 50,000 Islamic and Arab manuscripts, dating
back 14 centuries, were saved from the Saddam House of Manuscripts. Osama
Nassir al-Naqsa Bandy, the director-general of manuscripts in the Ministry
of Culture, had his entire collection removed to a safe place one week
before the war began in March. He also took 150 boxes of books and
catalogs from the library of the National Museum for safekeeping.
"The House of Manuscripts was attacked by saboteurs who took all the
installations and furniture but everything important was gone," he said.
"The library of the museum was bricked up and it also escaped vandalism."
Colonel Bogdanos said he had visited the hiding place of the manuscripts
and books and was satisfied they were well protected by the local
community.
"We had planned to bring them to the museum, but community members were
insistent it would be a mistake," he said. "I was assured they were safe
where they were. We took an inventory of the locked cases and left."
I have not yet found other sources reporting on this today.
James Mitchell
Librarian, American Folk Art Museum
Shirley K. Schlafer Library
45 West 53rd St.
New York, NY 10019
[log in to unmask]
(212) 265-1040 x110
April 30, 2003
Mr. Andrew S. Natsios
Administrator
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Ronald Reagan Building
Washington, D.C. 20523
Dear Mr. Natsios:
The recent looting and damage to Iraq's museums, libraries, archives and
archaeological sites is a tragic loss for the entire world. Iraq's
cultural heritage includes artifacts from the very cradle of civilization.
Material lost or at risk represents not only the glory, ingenuity,
scholarship and artistic beauty of Iraq, but is also a part of the
inestimable and irreplaceable wealth of humankind.
We the undersigned, a group of 30 national organizations broadly
representing the U.S. cultural heritage community, therefore call on USAID
immediately to place cultural heritage needs on an equal footing with the
other high-priority reconstruction activities for Iraq for which RFPs were
issued between January 31 and March 4, 2003.
In parallel with the immediate priorities of clean water, medical care,
education, and restoration of civil authority, USAID should make funds
available now to stabilize and restore Iraq's cultural heritage and
infrastructure. Funds and trained personnel are immediately required to:
· ensure the physical security of Iraq's museums, libraries, archives, and
archeological sites
· support the Iraqi heritage authorities in developing prioritized plans
for reconstruction
· assess the conservation needs of artifacts and buildings and respond
with assistance
· inventory missing or lost artifacts and archival records
· reconstruct records
· continue efforts to recover missing or lost artifacts and archival
records and make every effort to reconstruct the Iraqi national collections
We believe that the restoration and protection of Iraq's cultural
patrimony and documentary heritage cannot wait, and must proceed in
parallel with USAID's other efforts to help the people of Iraq rebuild
their country.
If you wish to schedule a meeting with a representative group from our
informal coalition, please contact Helen Wechsler at the American
Association of Museums (202.218.7699 or [log in to unmask]). We thank
you for your attention and stand ready to assist in this important work.
Sincerely,
American Anthropological Association
American Association for State and Local History
American Association of Museums
American Cultural Resources Association
American Folklore Society
American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works
American Library Association
American Schools of Oriental Research
Archaeological Institute of America
Art Libraries Society of North America
Association of American Geographers
Association of Art Museum Curators
Association of Art Museum Directors
College Art Association
Council of American Overseas Research Centers
Council on Library and Information Resources
Heritage Preservation
H-NET: Humanities and Social Sciences Online
International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR)
Linguistic Society of America
Middle East Librarians Association
Middle East Studies Association
National Coalition for History
National Foundation for Jewish Culture
National Humanities Alliance
Preservation Action
Society for Historical Archaeology
Society of American Archivists
Society of Biblical Literature
US Committee, International Council of Museums
cc: Wendy Chamberlin, Assistant Administrator for Asia and Near East
Affairs
Roger Winter, Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict and Human
Assistance
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