{"id":1876,"date":"2020-11-22T21:39:35","date_gmt":"2020-11-22T20:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iccira.org\/wp\/?p=1876"},"modified":"2025-09-29T16:21:38","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T15:21:38","slug":"which-patrimonies-for-the-future-generations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iccira.org\/wp\/?p=1876","title":{"rendered":"Which Patrimonies for the Future Generations?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cTo be ignorant of the Past is to remain a child!\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cicero\u2019s<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How\u2019s Culture seen indeed by most of the anonymous people around the World?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do Culture Workers Life Matter for Governments, Institutions, the General Audiences?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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by Marco Valente<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In Portugal\u2019s contemporary times we observe that certain Institutions that apparently should thrive on the dissemination of Culture and its exhibits generating sentiments of amazement on their visitors, vote their staff to scenarios, which the Covid19 pandemic turned even more into real life Armageddon\u2019s. On October 3rd<\/sup> 2020 a number of workers from the Serralves Foundation demanded that their situation of \u201cfalse green receipts\u201d without contracts should be solved, following a Courts Sentence and the resilience showed on behalf of the Management of the Foundation to follow the Courts decision and, in less than 24 hours more than 1.200 people signed a Petition for the workers rightfully rights being recognized[1]<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did these workers have to go to Court in the first place?  What causes situations as such to be so frequently faced by Men and Women of the Arts, not also in Portugal, but all around the Globe?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obliviating narratives from the Past (cases from Portugal, Libya, Nigeria, India and Mozambique)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This earlier October, the preservation of Lisbon\u2019s remains of its Almoravid Mosque, \u201cunique in all of the Iberian Peninsula\u201d was being debated by the Portuguese Archaeological Community. This because the remains were found on the nowadays first Christian Basilica of the capital city of Portugal, built subsequently on top of those remains. What was observed was that the situation was at first apparently under a sort of a \u201ccover up\u201d operation held by some of the DGPC technicians, claiming that the remains uncovered by the archaeologists were not so significant, but within a week this narrative changed completely[2]<\/a>. A Petition was launched on Avaaz[3]<\/a>, reaching 2.451 signatures within a couple of days. The situation, due to all the public and media pressure involved had a turn over and the remains of the Mosque were decided being preserved by the Portuguese Ministry of Culture on October 14th<\/sup> 2020[4]<\/a>. This situation reminded what had happened just some days before, when in a political statement, the Turkish Government declared that the Hagia Sofia would be reopened as a Mosque and not a Museum anymore and all the commotion this declaration generated on the religious, political and cultural meanders all over the world, as the flapping wings of a butterfly. World\u2019s Heritage being used merely for Political reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lower Alentejo, and the constant lawless destruction\u2019s occurring on a daily bases<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lower Alentejo\u2019s archaeological past has been rewritten every day, mostly because of the works going on the field and carried out by EDIA[5]<\/a>, as so, thousands of new sites have been discovered, and Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula History have to be rewritten thanks to all of these. But, unfortunately, the news aren\u2019t as good for all these sites, since it\u2019s destruction has been occurring massively in the latest years, most of it due to European Funding Private Projects that in fact meet no requirements on the fields of Archaeology, History and Patrimony in General. The violations of the Law occur constantly and daily, as we have been observing in the field and from far. On October 9th<\/sup> 2017 a Roman Bridge and several archaeological sites were destroyed, on works occurring for the plantation of almonds, by a Private Company, and even after the prohibition of the works established by the Ministry of Culture, the works proceeded on the field. This generated several actions of protest, one of which headed by the writer of this article, as well as some interested and concerned fellow archaeologists. A Petition online was launched[6]<\/a> and diffused in several platforms and the Portuguese Heritage publication Almadan. It was intended to generate debate at country and international level, which it did, also because Dr. Lu\u00eds Raposo (President from ICOM Europa and former Director of the National Museum of Archaeology) also signed it and made echo of such Petition. So far it has 1.577 worldwide signatures, from colleagues in the UK, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, Mozambique, Spain, etc\u2026 to anonymous citizens that signed it (generating their own complains on Patrimonial Destruction occurring in Portugal) from Patrimony Groups present at social networks such as Face book. All the measures taken seem to have little to no effects on these economic groups [that claim on bringing development to Lower Alentejo, but bringing Human trafficking and Slavery instead[7]<\/a>, destroying ecosystems as well[8]<\/a>], because news of the destructions carries on like flies on butter. Just recently a dolmen[9]<\/a> and the biggest prehistoric settlement[10]<\/a> in all of the Iberian Peninsula have been destroyed or irremediably affected. The Central Authority in terms of Cultural Heritage has scarce elements on the terrain, only one archaeologist for the all Alentejo, sometimes at most two! Alentejo is around 31.711 Km2<\/sup> areas to be monitored\u2026 an impossible mission for the Human Resources that Alentejo\u2019s Directory of Culture has on the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some few words must be spoken also, regarding what\u2019s happening around the Globe, mentioning some cases that came to my knowledge.  Libya\u2019s immense Cultural Heritage is under fire, since Khadafy\u2019s downfall, and archaeological sites are being destroyed by the hundreds on a daily basis. People struggling for their survival are also doing some clandestine excavations, but interested in getting the sites on their land also protected in at least one of these cases (MASTINO:in press). Never the less, the situation of constant war and lesser to none opportunities of getting a job, takes people to the illegal excavations and search for any future at all, thru the finding of an eventual treasure of a lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Nigeria, some destructions occurring from the colonial XIXth<\/sup> century era were denounced to me, testimonies of a colonial past that no one wishes to remember, but that none the less is also part of the history of that and other countries around the Globe. Apparently a tunnel for transporting slaves from the mainland to the ships was destroyed\u2026. It had lots of inscriptions on them\u2026 some in English\u2026 others we will never know. So, the people that draw and wrote those testimonies, suffered a second death, the passing of their memories written or drawn were irremediably lost, for good this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In India, some XVIIth<\/sup> century tombstones from deceased officials of the VOC (East India\u2019s Company) where found out of context, luckily some fellow archaeologists came to know about them, and something is being done to study, publish (TIWARY:preparing) and preserve such Heritage \u2013 also from a colonial and still painful memory of recent past, but all the memories should be kept and taught, since they are also markings of a part of India\u2019s History and Past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Island of Mozambique has been UNESCO\u2019s World Heritage Site since 1991, due to his architectural richness and diversity of constructive stiles and traditions (European, Swahili) but, in the last few years the restore of the buildings has not followed International Law on this matter, and this once wonderful site risks on having his World Heritage Site Status removed. The \u201cbig issue is noted on the restore construction works of the ruins that don\u2019t follow with strictness the mandatory law of using the original constructive materials which are stone and lime.\u201d (MACHAVA:2019). According to local architects and archaeologists, besides the architectural misguidances observed, during the construction works not even an Archaeologist is performing the follow up of the entire process, neither colleague from the Cultural Heritage Assessments\u2026 simply none! (IDEM).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The need for an International Independent Cultural and Creative Industries Regulatory Authority<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Observing the Portuguese Heritage case for the past decades, we get to an immediate conclusion\u2026 the Human Resources are scarce in order to monitor the field. ICCIRA could fill in the gap, providing specialized senior technicians, in order to help monitoring the sites, for instance, among helping in so many other competences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In countries that suffered the oppression of a colonial past, with slave trade, massacres from side to side, the Heritage that remembers such events is still a painful and harsh one. An Independent monitoring and \/ or salvage action in such cases, conducted by ICCIRA Technicians, could help in the healing of such wounds bringing together past opponent sides in the respect for all the memories of the ones that previously departed. Seeking always the most plausible truth, with the most sincere Independence and Professionalism. ICCIRA aims not to replace the local authorities with such actions, but being a collaborator, getting supports, diffusing projects, protecting worldwide all the actors of the Cultural and Creative Industries. Rebuilding bridges for common understanding, partnership and fraternity, with an extreme professionalism and an outstanding attitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA Dream dreamed alone is but a dream\u2026 a Dream dreamed together is Reality beginning.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Old African Proverb<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bibliography<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n