Kristen wrote: > In the meantime, I stand by my assertion that museums are
important to the fostering of civil society and citizen >>participation, and
that as a site of great beauty the Museum of the Antiquities would have been
one (granted of many) places where >>the Iraqi people could find a sense of
hope and, literally, respite from the wars. This was the main point of my
post. Gene's point is >>certainly well taken, but I do grieve most sincerely
not so much for the pots themselves, but for all that they represent both to
that >>nation and to humanity. And though, unlike the loss of human life,
the museum can be rebuilt, its loss contributes substantially to the
>>despair.

Hear, hear. If museum professionals don't stand up for the value of museums
and historical collections, who will? If we don't believe that "pots" (and
it was a LOT more than "pots") are important, who will defend them? The
Iraqi museum staff members who slept for days in the museum defended the
"pots" as best they could. Shouldn't we honor their sense of the value of
these objects to their (and our) culture, pride, and identity? Why are WE
dismissing this loss as insignificant in the general scheme of things?

It shouldn't be phrased as a choice between a child's life and the Museum's
collection. The collection could have been protected if the military command
had deemed it a priority (as they defended the Oil Ministry building and
other sites they saw as important, for non-humanitarian reasons). Museum and
heritage people internationally tried to convince them in advance to do
that, and received assurances that were not honored in the field. Outrage is
an appropriate response, especially from Museum-L. So that it won't be
allowed to happen again, in another war, in another place, so that the loss
is felt.

Carol Ely
Museum Consultant

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).