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Kabul Museum restores Taliban-smashed ancient Buddha statues

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posted on Feb, 5 2014 @ 03:24 PM
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I dunno about you but when I saw the statue being blown up it angered me, no, I'm not Buddhist but still, it was something that belonged not only to Afghans but belongs to World heritage as a whole.

I came across this article of some positive activities and successes. Apparently that was not the only statue to fall victim to their destructive activities. They went on a rampage destroying many other such Ancient relics. No, we can never completely replace and or repair what was lost but it is a great start.

Kabul Museum restores Taliban-smashed ancient Buddha statues

Kabul: Archaelogists and restoration experts have reassembled and restored several statues, including the magnificiant and ancient (Bamiyan) Buddha statues, smashed by the Taliban in 2001 during their rule.

The painstakingly reassembled objects include the cross-legged, 2nd or 3rd century A.D. Bodhisatva Sidhartha, which has now been restablished at a place of pride at the top of the Kabul Museum's staircase. The larger than life-size beautiful statue had been reduced to shards by Taliban fanatics.

People like veteran restorer at the museum, Abdullah Hakimzada, who has spent the past 33 years working at the museum, are proud to have collected pieces of the statues smashed by the Taliban.



I thought I'd share this positive development with those here who appreciate the story of recovery...


"Archaeological artifacts are our national identity," says the museum's archival head, Mohammad Yahyeh Muhibzada.

"It's our national responsibility to protect them so future generations will know who we are and who we were," he said.

A team of archaeologists from the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute are halfway through a three-year-long grant from the American Government to register every object in the museum's collections, creating a digital record.

edit on 5-2-2014 by SLAYER69 because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 5 2014 @ 03:43 PM
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reply to post by SLAYER69
 


Like most, I would have preferred the Taliban had never touched these treasures but still a bright spot at the end of the tunnel. It's amazing to see that decades of external and internal battles have yet to quash the human spirit and they have endeavoured to make whole again these amazing relics from the past. Nice find Slayer.



posted on Feb, 5 2014 @ 03:54 PM
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Wow, thats a crazy project, if they can pull this of they deserve all the gratitude posible.

I was also sad when the Taliban blew them to pieces and thought they would be lost forever, it was so unnecessary and stupid that no words can describe it.

I wonder how close they can get to the original look, cause it looks like it turned in to a lot of dust.




posted on Feb, 5 2014 @ 05:24 PM
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reply to post by SLAYER69
 


The destruction of those statues may very well have been blessing in disguise.

You have a female Governor.
You have people working to restore those statues who are not Buddhist.

The destruction of those statues backfired. While it never should have been destroyed in the first place, the reconstruction has managed to bring people of different faiths together while acknowledging the diverse cultural history in that part of the world. It also highlights the decline of the Taliban.

In essence, undermining the goal of the Taliban.
edit on 5-2-2014 by Xcathdra because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 5 2014 @ 05:48 PM
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SLAYER69
I dunno about you but when I saw the statue being blown up it angered me, no, I'm not Buddhist but still, it was something that belonged not only to Afghans but belongs to World heritage as a whole.


When I saw the footage of them blowing it up way back when, I literally cried in a rage. I was in my late teens, but it evoked such a visceral reaction of intense rage that all I could do was cry. I loathe seeing relics of ancient history destroyed, I always have. To me, it's the most blunt way someone can put that they have zero respect for the hard work of the people who created them, and zero respect for the descendants/residents of the regions. Of course we know this lack of respect was (and still is) par for the course with the Taliban, but still, so blatant and unabashed. Nauseating.

Knowing they're trying to restore the Buddhas, and are restoring/completed restoring other damaged & destroyed works gives me a great deal of hope that the damage, both physical and psychological, inflicted by the Taliban can be mitigated now and hopefully, completely reversed someday.



posted on Feb, 5 2014 @ 06:05 PM
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Xcathdra
reply to post by SLAYER69
 


The destruction of those statues may very well have been blessing in disguise.

You have a female Governor.
You have people working to restore those statues who are not Buddhist.

The destruction of those statues backfired. While it never should have been destroyed in the first place, the reconstruction has managed to bring people of different faiths together while acknowledging the diverse cultural history in that part of the world. It also highlights the decline of the Taliban.

In essence, undermining the goal of the Taliban.
edit on 5-2-2014 by Xcathdra because: (no reason given)


Great point.

I was angry, too, Slayer. For the same reasons. I likely will never see them, but if i wanted to, some a-holes smashed them so I couldn't.



posted on Feb, 5 2014 @ 07:05 PM
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I remember when that happened.
Incredible. I have no clue if this will work out sufficiently but I hope so.



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