Bamiyan Ancient Buddhas Carved Statues

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Bamiyan Buddha’s were monumental statues of a standing Buddha, carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamwam valley in Afghanistan, back in the 6th century. The Taliban destroyed these statues in 2001. Their destruction was justified as being a way to protest against the international aid exclusively reserved for the maintenance of the statues, while Afghanistan was going through a famine. This action was condemned by Japan along with many other countries that pledged support for rebuilding the statues. (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/world/asia)

Now, about 13 years after the statues were destroyed, the world is at conflict, as to whether they should leave the remains of the statues in the valley as they are, or use the remains to rebuild the statues, or try and make copies of them. Opinions vary and are split, which makes the decision even a harder one. The countries that donate the most for these statues, and would have to finance any rebuilding, think the statues should be left as they are, at least for now. While on the other hand, the Afghani government wants at least one of the two destroyed statues rebuilt. Countries that would be funding this process fear that because the remains are so little, the process would be more of a reproduction, rather than a rebuilding. Yet the Afghani government still insists, believing it would be an accomplishment seen as a symbolic victory over the Taliban. Political ideology and restoration policies are at the heart of the conflict. (http://buddhism.alltop.com/)

Bamiyan Buddha’s have been declared as a Unesco world heritage site. This means that Unesco became in charge of the area. And any modifications or visits to the cliff have to be approved by Unesco. They formed an expert working...

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...se it has been 10 years since the Unesco took charge of the site, yet no progress has been made. This is outraging the people and the experts. South Korea recently announced a 5.4 million donation to the rebuilding of the site, hoping it would encourage Unesco experts to begin taking action. Abdullah Mahmoodi, recently spoke on behalf of the Bamiyan Tourism Association saying, “I say rebuild one of them to attract tourists, and one should remain like that to remind people what the Taliban did, The best way to protect our monuments is to make them valuable again.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/world/asia/countries-divided-on-future-of-ancient-buddhas.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss).

Works Cited

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/world/asia/countries-divided-on-future-of-ancient-buddhas.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

2. http://buddhism.alltop.com/

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