Dear Colleagues,
In haste, but just a point that I'd like to make. I agree wholeheartedly
with the sentiment expressed by Rick Barry, but I think the situation in
Afganistan, as reported, is very different from that of say, Kosovo. The
article says that the Taliban were not in the habit of keeping records, and
that officials now have "moldy remains" to work with.
Kosovo saw the widescale and targetted destruction of a community's recorded
heritage. The Serbian authorities were quite aware of the cultural power of
records and knew that their destruction would lessen the likelihood of a
Kosovan "nation" in the future. The fact that older records survive in
Afganistan shows neglect by the Taliban, not willful destruction as with
visual heritage. The paucity of records for their period of rule is a
reflection of their administration and is a valid "archive" for that reason.
The challenge now is to assist the new government in the re-establishment of
effective administration and record keeping.
I hope the above makes sense and is relevant.
mark
* * * * *
Mark Pomeroy
Archivist
Royal Academy of Arts
London, W1J 0BD
tel. 020 7300 5768
Dear Colleagues:
Please ignore cross postings.
Below are snips from an article posted from Kabul today. It is a very sad
reminder of how destroyed records and other cultural heritage materials
undermine the fabric of a country and the whole idea of the rule of law. It
also stands as a stark reminder of the risks to future generations of not
having and preserving records of tyrannical regimes. We know from history of
other tyrannies that, where there is no record, the reality of tyranny may
later be diluted or denied altogether. We talk a great deal about
accountability of individuals and organizations. Here we address as we do
only rarely -- not rarely enough in recent history -- the accountability of
a national regime.
Could (would) ICA speaking to the international community and its national
members, speaking to their own national communities, take a leadership role
in drawing public attention to lessons concerning the role of records in
this situation and in establishing a surrogate record of the past five years
of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan? Could some kind of record be
reconstituted through collaboration among the ICA, UNESCO, national
professional associations, and possibly the World Bank for use by the new
government of Afghanistan? This might be done utilizing originals or copies
of whatever documentation Taliban officials may have left behind as they
fled Kabul, oral histories from witnesses and the records of the one senior
Taliban figure remaining in Kabul, Mohammed Khaksar, the former deputy
interior minister and outspoken critic of the Taliban's more extreme
practices. Mr. Khaksar might also be able to assist in locating what few
records may have been kept elsewhere by the disenfranchised government.
International press coverage and Internet Archives might also provide
resource materials.
Do we have any experience with similar problems in Eastern Europe?
It seems to me that this kind of situation runs to the heart of what
archives and records management is all about.
Regards,
Rick Barry
www.rbarry.com
=============================================
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11350-2001Dec7.html
Kabul Good Riddance, Taliban Told Mullah's Fiery Sermon Accuses Militia of
Ignoring Suffering
By Pamela Constable
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, December 8, 2001; Page A16
KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 7 -- As the Taliban militia surrendered its last
stronghold in Afghanistan today, few people here in the capital mourned the
demise of the radical Islamic movement whose five-year rule brought them
little but poverty, isolation and fear....
It is difficult to quantify the human impact of the Taliban era on
Afghanistan. In a country where no reliable statistics are available, no
real government has ruled for five years, and huge numbers of people have
been displaced by civil war and drought, surveys by international relief
agencies only suggest the magnitude of human hardship and upheaval that
accompanied Taliban rule....
In fact, less than three weeks after its forces peacefully abandoned the
capital and fled south, there are astonishingly few traces here to indicate
that the Taliban ever existed.
Because they deemed images of the human form to be un-Islamic, Taliban
leaders built no monuments to their rule and allowed no photographs of their
leaders. Instead, they took down office portraits of past Afghan heroes and
historic figures, smashed statues outside the old presidential palace and
destroyed priceless figurines in the national museum.
Because of their limited resources, lack of education and opposition to
modern technology, Taliban officials kept no systematic records of their
activities, issued orders on walkie-talkies or scraps of paper, and governed
from nearly empty ministries that never received a coat of paint.
New officials taking up their posts have few files to empty or store, only
the moldy remains of old business that was neglected for five years.
Professionals who once worked in ministries were fired and replaced by
clerics who knew little about finance, planning or public works.
"We worked with international standards and modern methods, but nobody in
Afghanistan knows anything about them any more," lamented Ahmad, the former
government health and sanitation manager. "So much has been lost; I don't
know how it will ever be recovered."....
© 2001 The Washington Post Company
* * * * *
Mark Pomeroy
Archivist
Royal Academy of Arts
London, W1J 0BD
tel. 020 7300 5768
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