Comment on a Picture

The assignment was to pick a picture from our textbook and write our comments on it. After paging through the book I found an image that inspired me. The double photo on page 8, the Buddha photos, intrigued and depressed me at the same time. Because of this reaction in me, I decided to do a bit of research of the site. The two images are of the exact same statue at two different times in Afghanistan in 2001.
The first image is of a huge Buddha carved into the cliff side and the other is of the same Buddha destroyed. This cliff is located in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, and at several points in history the land belonged to Pakistan. When the Taliban took over that region in 2001, some militant groups began to destroy this, as well as other, carvings, stating that they are graven images and blasphemous. There have been two proven attacks on this statue alone. These have been in broad daylight, using explosives. Many other Buddha's in the area, and the in nearby Swat Valley in Pakistan, have undergone similar treatments of destruction.
Pakistani archaeologists have begged the Taliban, Afghan officials, and other world leaders to stop the destruction. For several years, no help has come to save or rebuild these sites. Recently, however, an Afghan sculptor, Amanulah Haiderzad, has been commissioned to undertake the huge job of restoring two of these statues. It will take much time and resources, as this project will involve archaeologist, engineers and other experts, to accomplish this enormous fete.
There are a few reasons as to why this event, and the pictures, evoke depression and inspiration in me. I am not a Buddhist, I am not a Muslim, I am not an archaeologist, nor am I a sculptor. I am someone who enjoys historical things, and I truly love art in almost all its various forms. The destruction of something that was carved 1,300 to 1,400 years ago, disgusts me. That it was an inspired piece of work, and the scale it was achieved at, impresses me to no end.
I think the greatest aspect of this situation that intrigues and inspires me is the people who have worked for and are now working for these restorations. The sculptor is a Muslim, as are the majority of the others working on this. By agreeing to this undertaking, they are telling the world that they love their country and its past, that they have respect for their regions cultural history, and it matters greatly to them that this comes about, as they are all taking huge pay cuts to achieve their goal. This shows the world that they don't have to agree with a different religion, nor do they have to agree with some of their own people; their love and respect for the artwork is what matters at this point for them. I can give these people whom I will never meet so much respect for their integrity in the face of what could have been ignored. I thank them for their work to human-kind, and the generations to come.