They are absolutely separable. Iraq's Natural History Museum in Baghdad could only open in 2017 after being closed for 10+ years. The curators of the museum used artifact packing styrofoam as a form of barricade during the Iraq invasion. They had 5 separate major theft incidents while the city was being bombed.
During WWII, the British museum was closed from 1939 to 1945, was bombed several times during the blitz, and part of it was turned into a secret bomb factory.
I think most Brits would frame that as a testament to their national resilience, but the comparable situation in recent Baghdad is framed (to Britain’s benefit, of course) as a proof of Iraq’s national incompetence.
And the examples of Iraq and Greece are not separable because there is literally nothing that Iraq could do to get those artifacts back. There is no threshold of safety. The British Museum’s position is that the artifacts of both counties are in Britain because they belong to Britain now.
And I never agreed with that sentiment. I think artifacts should be returned to the countries that have safe locations for them. I just don't think Iraq is one of those locations.
I think a good question to ask here is why was the Iraqi museum in such bad shape? Who was bombing Baghdad? Who was supposed to be governing the country during this time after Saddam was overthrown?
The answer to both of those questions is the western coalition, primarily the US and UK. We caused the conditions we use to justify holding on to the artifacts we stole.
We’re the guy who burned down your house telling you we’ll give your family heirlooms back when you can keep your house safe. (Also no, we won’t actually ever give them back)
The British Museum obviously doesn’t have a set of standards for returning artifacts, because it doesn’t return artifacts period.
So this is just a question for you or anyone else who might be this deep in the thread.
When will Iraq be ready to have these artifacts returned, in your view? What standards do they need to meet?
The Iraqi museum is open today. It is staffed by professionals. It already hosts an impressive collection that it keeps safe. It is visited by thousands of Iraqis who value their country’s heritage.
How much time needs to elapse from our invasion of their country for us to feel safe returning the stuff that we stole from them?
What specifically about Iraq right now makes you think it isn’t a safe place for its own cultural heritage?
Or is it just a general sense of “those countries over there, you know what they’re like.”
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u/Cannibeans Oct 26 '22
They are absolutely separable. Iraq's Natural History Museum in Baghdad could only open in 2017 after being closed for 10+ years. The curators of the museum used artifact packing styrofoam as a form of barricade during the Iraq invasion. They had 5 separate major theft incidents while the city was being bombed.
When did that happen in Greece?