logically argue that selling Buddha
statues freed up capital for industrial uses. That
avarice and corruption accompanied such activities
was a matter frequently glossed upon.
People pushed to the very extreme through
economic hardships are prone to be radicalized and
engage in illogical actions. The overwhelming
support for communism in predominantly Hindu Nepal
offers a recent example of the trend.
In
much the same way, the Taliban encountered no local
opposition to their attempt
to destroy the Bamiyan statues. The city was the
center of the Hazara tribe, while Pashtuns
dominated the Taliban. The other side of the
economic story was of course the excessive
dependence on opium cultivation around the area,
which the Taliban used as their primary currency.
In essence, by 2001 the destruction of the local
community had been accomplished; the statues were
felled only as an afterthought.
All for
one The multinational approach to
Afghanistan is flawed on many counts, but mainly
because different agencies assume they are dealing
with separate problems when in fact they are
dealing with one. NATO forces are dealing with a
resurgent Taliban movement, while various agencies
are dealing with the mushrooming problems of opium
cultivation, women's rights, health, education,
and the preservation of culture.
What
business can you provide for people who make their
money on opium cultivation? The only alternative
that carries sufficiently high margins is tourism,
which is particularly suited to the rugged
landscape of Afghanistan and its phenomenal
history, even if many of the most interesting
sites were destroyed by a succession of invaders.
In a situation where the tourism industry assumes
primacy, local populations have to protect their
economic interests, which they achieve by
maintaining a more open society.
This has
certainly been the experience in Turkey and Egypt,
where radical Islamists are kept at bay not so
much by the "war on terror" as by good
old-fashioned neighborhood policemen. Terrorists
committing heinous acts at Luxor were, for
example, prevented from re-enacting their methods
because of the immediate negative economic impact.
Terrorists cannot operate without support from
local communities - and failing to recognize this
factor makes the process of reconstruction arduous
if not impossible.
The primary strategy
for the various multilateral agencies is thus to
provide suitable incentives for the locals to step
in and protect their own heritage. Convince the
Afghans that a million tourists will visit any new
Bamiyan site, and new Buddha statues will not only
spring up, they will be more majestic than the
ones destroyed. It might seem like an awfully
long-term project, but the idea presents the only
proven method of aligning local interests with
those of the global community.
Note 1. UNESCO Courier,
December, and "From ruins of Afghan Buddhas, a
history grows", New York Times, December 6.
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