Wednesday 17 April 2019

VIEW: EVERYONE'S CULTURAL HERITAGE IS IMPORTANT

No sooner had the fire been put out at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris than the backlash started, sparked by the perceived double standards in reactions to disasters of this kind.
When President Emmanuel Macron said that France would appeal for international help, someone tweeted, for instance, that the country should use the money it “stole” from Haiti, referring to the vast sums that Haiti had to pay the colonial power after declaring independence in 1804. The comment was retweeted thousands of times.
The Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, after the fire.
Another Twitter user, "Doe Bitch" (@bacchianbabe), also started a thread of “ethnic cultural heritage sites that have been destroyed throughout history, including in recent years”. The listing comprised a range of sites around the world, with the addition of the 6th-century monumental Buddhas of Bamiyan, which extremists dynamited in 2001. Doe's point was that few of the sites received extensive international attention. This thread has got thousands of retweets and "likes" as well.
A third commenter, based in the Caribbean, slammed the media for the continuous coverage of the fire, saying that “a cathedral" burns, and the press acts as if a major catastrophe had happened.
Further, when the White House announced that the United States would offer "assistance in the rehabilitation of this irreplaceable symbol of Western civilization," social media commentators like Dana Vivian White wondered about the missing help for Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, and the apparent lack of assistance for destroyed U.S. black churches.
A painting of Notre Dame by student J. De Clercq.
The criticism doesn’t minimise the fact that the damage to 850-year-old Notre-Dame is a tragedy for universal heritage, especially when we celebrate World Heritage Day on April 18. This is a day meant to "encourage" us to reflect on the importance of cultural patrimony to our "lives, identities and communities", according to the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).

As people packed the area around the cathedral in the aftermath of the April 15 fire, one of the most frequent remarks was that Notre Dame belonged not only to the French but to everyone. The 13 million visitors it receives annually come from all over the globe.
The backlash does indicate, however, that many believe the cultural traditions of some are considered more important than those of others. Looking at the sites inscribed on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), it’s clear why this is a concern: a few countries dominate the list, with France in fourth place for the number of sites registered, after Italy, China, and Spain.
Numerous countries of the Global South are barely represented on the list, although UNESCO is trying to remedy that, urging member states to put forward sites for inscription. At a press briefing last year, officials said that the UN recognized the issue.
What needs to be stressed, though, is that the world has a stake in protecting monuments that are historically significant, wherever they might be located. Former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, who was in Paris this week as part of her “Becoming” book tour, said in a tweet: “The majesty of Notre Dame - the history, artistry, and spirituality - took our breath away, lifting us to a higher understanding of who we are and who we can be.”
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay (file photo).
The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, meanwhile issued a statement saying, “Notre Dame represents a historically, architecturally, and spiritually, outstanding universal heritage. It is also a monument of literary heritage, a place that is unique in our collective imagination. Heritage of the French but also of humanity as a whole. This drama reminds us of the power of heritage that connects us to one another”.

She added, "We are already in contact with experts and ready to send an emergency mission to assess the damage, preserve what can be preserved and plan short and medium-term measures".
The statement is actually nothing out of the ordinary, as UNESCO has mobilised resources to support restoration of patrimony in countries from Haiti to Mali, especially when such patrimony is of global and historical value. (We may argue about who decides on such value, but that is another discussion.)
Notre-Dame forms part of the world’s collective memory. As a recent example, in 2010, hundreds filled the church after the earthquake in Haiti, participating in a mass for the victims, coming together in sorrow and grief. Several in the congregation expressed anger toward France and the West in general, for past and continuing injustices; Notre-Dame provided a space to do so. It belonged to all who were there in that moment.
Still, as French tycoons and people around the world donate vast sums to restore the cathedral, we need to think about others' cultural heritage as well. (Haiti's is still in need of rebuilding, nine years after the earthquake.) We need to highlight what has happened in Iraq, Syria, Mali and other countries. We should emphasize that the loss of artistic and cultural heritage has an impact on development.
In 2010, Haiti’s then Minister of Culture Marie-Laurence Jocelyn-Lassègue said, “For us, culture is not a luxury, not an accessory … It is through culture and by culture that we’ll be able to develop certain aspects of our society.” (http://www.ipsnews.net/2010/03/haiti-artists-join-un-to-rebuild-cultural-life/)
We all need to give increased global attention to exceptional monuments in cities less well-lit than Paris, in towns off the beaten track - monuments being destroyed by warmongers, terrorists, state agents, vandals and others; monuments lost to fire; monuments ravaged by hurricanes and other natural disasters. Leaders need to send a clear message that everyone’s culture is important - particularly when it doesn't infringe on the rights of others.
We also need to restrain ourselves from expressing unseemly glee when someone else’s patrimony is destroyed and instead work together to safeguard universal heritage.

As Claire Oberon Garcia, a U.S. Black Studies professor and author, said: Notre-Dame is "a triumph of human ingenuity, aspiration, and longing for beauty and transcendent truths". It has meaning for all of us. - SWAN

INFORMATION ON WORLD HERITAGE DAY:  http://whc.unesco.org/en/events/868