As I continued my studies and research, I came across a couple articles that focussed on some very interesting issues at hand: The destruction of religious symbols and cultural objects and how their destruction relates to war. The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha's was an event that caused extreme uproar, making the people of Afghanistan seem horrible and that they committed such an act without a cause. The real point at hand though was that the destruction of the Buddha's was not a religious motive, but meant instead to send a political message.
UNESCO funded a rehabilitation of Afghanistan's cultural heritage, raising up to seven million dollars used for the preservation of a culture. I think that an organization set up to preserve culture is an inspiring cause, especially living in a country where I am constantly immersed in so many different cultures. Culture is everything to a country because it defines who they are and where they have come from. Without that comes a loss of identity, which could eventually lead to the abolition of an entire race and culture altogether. However, in a country heavily populated and surrounded by poverty, should all of that money be going towards preserving the past, or should it go towards preserving the future?
Tune in next week as I continue my adventure along the Silk Road.
Yours truly,
~A.V.
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