Q&A: Museum protector
In the weeks following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, it was reported that some 170,000 artifacts had been looted from Iraq's national museum in Baghdad. That number was later corrected to 15,000, but the museum was left in ruins and has only opened its doors once, for a special exhibition. Donny George, director of the Iraq Museum, recently visited the United States to help promote a new book called The Looting of the Iraq Museum: The Lost Legacy of Mesopotamia.
Were many of the artifacts hidden before the war?
Yes, this is one of the things we always do at the museum because we feel it will be in danger, so every single small item was evacuated and put in hidden places.
How many artifacts are still missing?
We had about 15,000 pieces missing from the museum. I can say now about 50 percent of those are back, although they are not all in Baghdad. Some of them are scattered here and there, but they are all with authorities, with law enforcement, with museums.
What are some of the major pieces still missing?
For us, everything is important. We need to have all of them back. But there are some very famous pieces. Among them is the headless statue of a Sumerian King called Eannatum. It's half-lifesize, made of diorite, and it's still missing.
Is there still looting of archaeological sites?
Yes there is, because it is a very hard job to control all these hundreds and hundreds of sites in the south. Although we have recruited a kind of special police to patrol these sites, the problem is that they don't have that much equipment, they don't have communication assistance, they don't have enough cars.
Early on, you expressed anger that U.S. troops let the looting happen. Are you still angry?
Now I'm not angry. I feel very sorry because they could not manage to protect the museum. But people from [the United States] have done a lot for us.
What about the ongoing violence? Have you had to move any of the valuable pieces?
We put everything into storerooms and we have sealed the storerooms by welding all the iron doors, so nobody can go in.
Are there plans to reopen the Iraq Museum in Baghdad?
We are working in very low profile, doing a lot of things for the building. Now we have an ongoing project, which is installing surveillance cameras outside the museum and installing motion detectors inside the museum, installing electronically locked doors.
What must be done in order to get the museum up and running?
Secure the country! Nothing else.
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