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Visit to the 'Syria, Yemen, Iraq: The Risk of Forever Being Lost' Photo Exhibition
Friday 02 March 2018, 07:15 pm
"Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures." - John F. Kennedy
We are pleased to share that a total of 24 students and 3 lecturers from the International Relations and Media programmes attended the ‘Syria, Yemen, Iraq: The Risk of Forever Being Lost' photo exhibition recently, which was organised by the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia (IAMM) in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The visit was an initiative to allow participants to have an out-of-classroom experience with regards to the subject matter of peace, war and conflict.
The exhibition illustrates the degree of destruction resulted from the armed conflicts taking place in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. The display was divided into four sections: Religious Edifices, Commercial Structures, Social Dwellings and Historical Monuments. The exhibition is an attempt by IAMM and ICRC to record the before and after destruction and recollect the memories of world shared heritage.
Throughout the visit, the IR and Media students were exposed to the enormity of the on-going crisis and to ponder upon what the world have lost. The students learned how cultural heritage sites and historical properties have been destroyed due to the civil war and armed conflict in the Middle East and the Levant. The display also benefited the students as they are now able to understand that armed conflicts within and between states not only results in devastating reports of deaths and increase of asylum seekers but also demolishes cultural heritage and identity.
Often time during conflict, we see the enduring power of heritage to heal and build peace. In 2011, during the Arab Spring protests in Egypt, a group of young men from different background formed a human chain outside the main gates on Tahrir Square in an attempt to protect the National Museum from looters. The event showed how heritage could be a powerful tool for peace, and must be protected. Hence, we appreciate this opportunity created for the students by the lecturers and hope that in the future, APU’s IR and Media students will uphold the value of heritage as the symbol of peace and participate in the efforts to save and protect cultural heritage in every corner of the world.