Dr Palumbo is the World Monuments Fund,
Director of archaeological conservation: Africa, Europe, the Middle East and
Central Asia. He was a speaker at the Press conference
organised yesterday in
Paris,
France by Somaliland
Heritage, a
France
based association.
On the sideline of the Press conference, I spoke with him
and began by asking him about the history of the World Monuments Fund (WMF).
His response: the World Monument Fund was
founded in 1965 in the
United
States and since then, she has achieved an
unmatched record of successful conservation of Monuments in more than 90
countries. Our headquarters is in
New York,
but we have offices and affiliate organisations in the
United Kingdom,
France,
Spain and
Portugal.
What
is the World Monuments Fund’s Watch List all about?
Dr Palumbo: the Watch List was launched in
1995 as the
World
Monument’s flagship
advocacy programme for the WMF. The Watch list is one of our organisation’s
most effective tools. It is issued every two years and acts as a potent call to
action on behalf of structures in urgent need of immediate help.
How
do you get informed about structures or historic and prehistoric sites and
their need for help?
Dr Palumbo: we get informed through locals
or the governments of some countries and some times, through foreigners who
have visited a part of the world and were attracted by a particular structure
or historic site or sites. They send us information via the internet and we try
to send our specialists on the field and after which, a committee of experts is
gathered for thorough examinations, to find out what steps must be taken to
help. The good thing is that, all appeals have always being for the
preservation of extraordinary sites.
What
are the principal causes of the degradation and even destructions of Monuments
around the World?
Dr Palumbo: they are climate change, sadly
always humans, especially through conflicts like that of Iraq or the Somali war,
that has destroyed the only museum that was located in Somaliland and finally,
the other factor which is also human induced, are pressures from economic
development. This has been noticed principally in
China
and
India and also in
Latin America. But far less in Africa, however, with the
gradual pick up of African economies, it is evident that what has occurred in
most developing countries and region earlier mentioned, will certainly happen
in
Africa. And that is exactly why the WMF
intervenes. We would like Africans to be aware of the importance of the
preservation of their historic and prehistoric sites and all other important
structures. For it will help define things clearly especially the perception of
the World toward African histories and traditions. And this is also why the Las Geel prehistoric site located in
Somaliland holds all her importance.
Can
you reasonably say your organisation has succeeded in raising awareness on the
importance of Monuments?
Dr Palumbo: Oh yes. The shining example is
Africa. On our Watch list, African sites, have recorded a
leap. Note worthy is the increase presence of sub-Saharan awareness, hence many
of their historic and prehistoric sites are present on our Top 100 most
endangered Monument sites for 2008. The selected African countries and their
historic sites are Algeria: the Medracen and el- Khroub sites and
also
the Numidian Royal Mausolea located in the city of Constantine,
Burkina-Faso : Loropeni Ruins, Egypt: Aqsunqur Mosque ( Blue Mosque) in
Cairo, Shunet el Zabib in Abydos and the West Bank of the Nile in
Luxor, Eritrea: Derbush Tomb in the city of Massawa, Ethiopia: Mohammadali
House in Addis Ababa, Ghana: Wa Naa’s Palace in Wa, Libya: Wadi
Mathendous Rock arts in Fezzan, Madagascar: Fianarantsoa old city, Mauritania: Chinguetti mosque, Morocco: Al-Azhar Mosque in the city of Fez,
Nigeria: Ikom Monoliths of Cross River state, Senegal: Saint
Louis Island, Sierra Leon: Freetown Historic Monuments,
Somaliland: Las Geel Rock Art, Tanzania: Kilwa Historic sites and Zimbabwe: Bumbusi National Monument
in Matabeleland.
Identifying
and enlisting prehistoric sites on your Watch List is noble, but does your
organisation provide any financial assistance? Let’s say for example, the Las
Geel prehistoric site in
Somaliland?
Dr Palumbo: Oh yes. But Somaliland and in
particular, the Las Geel prehistoric site, is new, and should they ( Somaliland
Heritage and the Somaliland government) make any such request, it will be
studied. However, we do help financially. And since 1996, the WMF has disbursed
more than $ 47 million for 214 sites in 74 countries.
Elie
B. Smith: thank you very much for sparing us some
of your precious time to inform us about your organisation.
Dr Gaetano Palumbo: You are welcome.
Web site of the World Monuments Fund: www.wmf.org.
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