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I know this is no way to come back from a hiatus, but I am so worried and depressed about this, I just thought I should spread it around. Anybody up on world events should have heard something about the situation in Egypt (that's what they call major...*ahem* incidents nowadays, 'situations). I would like to take this moment to shout out to Cody for his consistent Twitter and Facebook posts on the subject. Mexico is a little starved for major news avents from the rest of the world, so without him I probably wouldn't have found out about this for months. As a lot of the people who've had to be locked in car with me for any length of time should know, it has long been one of my dreams to visit the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo, one (if not the) largest collections of Egyptian artifacts on the planet. I have been obsessed with Eqyptology since I was about 6 or so (ever since my mother, god bless her, got me that very colorful and engaging book on the ancient Egyptians mummifing procedures). I also consider Zahi Hawass one of my personal heroes, up there with Gandhi and Rosie the Riveter. If you don't know who Zahi Hawass is, shame! His name shows up in the news a suprisingly huge amount for a lowly Egyptologist. Well, he's not really lowly. He has so many titles and honors I can't really list them all (check his Wikipedia page for a start). He is widely considered largly responsible for the return of a fantastic amount of Egypt's history back to Egytpian soil (a Herculean feat, if you consider the political climate of the age), and while I am sure there are more than a couple irritated buracrates and stuffy British or American professors locked in offices somewhere cursing the very ground on which he walks, I think a very inteligent and learned person who has dedicated so much of their life not just to returning the objects that tell the story of their country's rich and fascinating history back to the land from which they came, but also seeking to display, protect, and study them to learn more about that history and teach the public and the world (at the same time giving the tourist trade a very good reason to detour through a country they might otherwise miss, bringing more valuable money to a country that could certainly use it)is worthy of being idolized.
Jeepers, I think I got a little off-topic.
Anyway, as the complicated political situation turned from sullen sparks into a full-on bush fire throughout the city and the country, I and appearently the rest of the educating world watched in horror as present day political disagreements (and remember, as you watch people tossing Molotov cocktails over the barriers in downtown Cairo, I mean disagreement in a strong sense) threatened thousands of years of one of the richest and most important civilizations in our history.
I may sound over-dramatic, but you need to understand my point of view. For example, of all the horrors and unspeakable evil that have occured over the years in the Middle East, the one picture that can, and probably always will, be able to make me disolve into tears no matter the situation is this one:
That is Mushin Hasan, deputy director of the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad in April 2003, sitting in the ruins of what used to be one of the museums prized exhibits after vandals and looters broke in looking for riches to steal and sell. Thousands of years of irreplaceable history from the very cradle of civilazation, destroyed forever in one careless night. To me, this is a crime on the scale of murder. It is a genocide of history, of knowledge. By destroying what is left of the lives of dead people, we destroy the only thing that holds them here. By destroying their remnants, we destroy them.
Hopefully this can convey the level of my horror as I watch, thousands upon thousands of miles and an ocean away, unable to do anything as thoughtless actions destroy irreplacable parts of history, and hundreds of years of hard work and study. Several major news sorces have published something on the break in at the actual Museum in Cairo, but the worry has not abated for the rest of the country. Many if not most of the most important archeological sites (for those laymen among you who won't get it if I start naming any places that haven't shown up in the movies: when I say 'archeological site', think 'The Sphinx') are very out of the way, and virtually unprotected. The Valley of the Kings, for example, not to mention hundreds of smaller and largely remote sites scattered all down the Nile and through what was the Lower Kingdom.
One thing that has, for the moment, restored my faith in humanity are the suprising and quite impressive actions being taken by Egyptian citizens all over the country. The break in at the National Museum, as mentioned in the above article, was relatively small considering, thanks largely in part to a human shield created by locals who linked arms and physically placed themselves around the museum to stop anyone getting in.
I was especially struck by the story of a group of Alexandrian youths who are now being thanked for their actions, which included guarding neighborhoods, directing traffic, and protecting public buildings -including the Library of Alexandria. (Read about it here, about halfway down).
Many remote sites are being protected by local villagers, who have been doing things like camping in the sites overnight to protect them. It's amazing and inspireing to see the actions of a country who is so proud of it's history and culture.
Interestingly,it also seems I am not the only foreigner with a need to help! Among the amazing efforts going on outside the country is a very clever way of getting help to places that are in danger that works around the country-wide technology blackout. A scientist in Egypt will call someone in the U.S. or a similarly equipped country with news of a place that might be being looted. This person will find the GPS coordinates of these sites through the internet, using Google Earth, among other things, and then relay the information back to the scientist on the ground, who will then relay the information to the Egyptian military. Telling soldiers which archeological site is in danger is relatively useless, but giving coordinates ensures they have something to work with.
So do what you can people, please (obviously the most important thing is for the next month or so, don't buy any Egyptian artifacts! The market's about to get flooded with stolen loot, and the best way to deter the actions are to make them unprofitable.) So please, watch the news people, and do anything you can. Also, please join me in a hearfelt thanks to all the people who have been working so hard to protect the history and culture of a country in danger. One people's history is the world's history.
And if anyone's feeling nice and depressed now, I can only suggest a good look at the closest thing I have to fuzzy therapy. That's right, bookstore cats.
Sorry that this post has almost nothing to do with my actual life. But, school's back in session. Expect more updates soon.
If you're interested in reading more, here's somewhere to get started:
'MSNBC- Archaeologists Assess Tut Tragedy'
'Discovery- Egypts Tombs and Temples Under Siege'
'National Geographic- Egypt's Antiquities and Looting (has video)'
'National Geographic- Zahi Hawass and the Egyptian Museum'
'Science Magazine- Archaeologists Hold Their Breath'
'Discovery- Egypt's Treasures: Assessing The Damage'
Jeepers, I think I got a little off-topic.
Anyway, as the complicated political situation turned from sullen sparks into a full-on bush fire throughout the city and the country, I and appearently the rest of the educating world watched in horror as present day political disagreements (and remember, as you watch people tossing Molotov cocktails over the barriers in downtown Cairo, I mean disagreement in a strong sense) threatened thousands of years of one of the richest and most important civilizations in our history.
I may sound over-dramatic, but you need to understand my point of view. For example, of all the horrors and unspeakable evil that have occured over the years in the Middle East, the one picture that can, and probably always will, be able to make me disolve into tears no matter the situation is this one:
That is Mushin Hasan, deputy director of the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad in April 2003, sitting in the ruins of what used to be one of the museums prized exhibits after vandals and looters broke in looking for riches to steal and sell. Thousands of years of irreplaceable history from the very cradle of civilazation, destroyed forever in one careless night. To me, this is a crime on the scale of murder. It is a genocide of history, of knowledge. By destroying what is left of the lives of dead people, we destroy the only thing that holds them here. By destroying their remnants, we destroy them.
Hopefully this can convey the level of my horror as I watch, thousands upon thousands of miles and an ocean away, unable to do anything as thoughtless actions destroy irreplacable parts of history, and hundreds of years of hard work and study. Several major news sorces have published something on the break in at the actual Museum in Cairo, but the worry has not abated for the rest of the country. Many if not most of the most important archeological sites (for those laymen among you who won't get it if I start naming any places that haven't shown up in the movies: when I say 'archeological site', think 'The Sphinx') are very out of the way, and virtually unprotected. The Valley of the Kings, for example, not to mention hundreds of smaller and largely remote sites scattered all down the Nile and through what was the Lower Kingdom.
One thing that has, for the moment, restored my faith in humanity are the suprising and quite impressive actions being taken by Egyptian citizens all over the country. The break in at the National Museum, as mentioned in the above article, was relatively small considering, thanks largely in part to a human shield created by locals who linked arms and physically placed themselves around the museum to stop anyone getting in.
I was especially struck by the story of a group of Alexandrian youths who are now being thanked for their actions, which included guarding neighborhoods, directing traffic, and protecting public buildings -including the Library of Alexandria. (Read about it here, about halfway down).
Many remote sites are being protected by local villagers, who have been doing things like camping in the sites overnight to protect them. It's amazing and inspireing to see the actions of a country who is so proud of it's history and culture.
Interestingly,it also seems I am not the only foreigner with a need to help! Among the amazing efforts going on outside the country is a very clever way of getting help to places that are in danger that works around the country-wide technology blackout. A scientist in Egypt will call someone in the U.S. or a similarly equipped country with news of a place that might be being looted. This person will find the GPS coordinates of these sites through the internet, using Google Earth, among other things, and then relay the information back to the scientist on the ground, who will then relay the information to the Egyptian military. Telling soldiers which archeological site is in danger is relatively useless, but giving coordinates ensures they have something to work with.
So do what you can people, please (obviously the most important thing is for the next month or so, don't buy any Egyptian artifacts! The market's about to get flooded with stolen loot, and the best way to deter the actions are to make them unprofitable.) So please, watch the news people, and do anything you can. Also, please join me in a hearfelt thanks to all the people who have been working so hard to protect the history and culture of a country in danger. One people's history is the world's history.
And if anyone's feeling nice and depressed now, I can only suggest a good look at the closest thing I have to fuzzy therapy. That's right, bookstore cats.
Sorry that this post has almost nothing to do with my actual life. But, school's back in session. Expect more updates soon.
If you're interested in reading more, here's somewhere to get started:
'MSNBC- Archaeologists Assess Tut Tragedy'
'Discovery- Egypts Tombs and Temples Under Siege'
'National Geographic- Egypt's Antiquities and Looting (has video)'
'National Geographic- Zahi Hawass and the Egyptian Museum'
'Science Magazine- Archaeologists Hold Their Breath'
'Discovery- Egypt's Treasures: Assessing The Damage'
