Humanity Stolen

I read some terrible news this weekend coming out of Egypt. No, not the political saga that's been going in. Although, it's definitely related.

It seems several pieces of priceless historical artefacts have gone missing from the Egyptian Museum. We are talking about pieces of history, older than all of the established governments in the world, running the show.

For me, I find this heart-wrenching. These artefacts are not priceless just because they are so old. No, it's impossible to recreate something like this, in every single detail. But more than that, these items are what tells us about ourselves, as human beings. It tells us where we came from and it also shows us the way we are going.

Why is it that when there is some kind of political turmoil that the museums get ransacked? This happen in every single conflict, including the Iraq War with the US and the World Wars. If anything, they should have been protected with every last ounce of force possible. We are talking about humanity, and that stands above any power-hungry dictator in history.

During the Civil War in China, Chiang Kai-Shek ensured that some of the greatest historical treasures in the 5,000 year old history of China is preserved. He tasked a good part of his military might to travel with the artefacts from place to place to avoid the bombings and ransackings. Eventually, these were crated once more and found it's home in Taiwan.

They are now on display in the National Palace Museum on the beautiful island. All 6,000 plus years of humanity, on display for generations of boys and girls to learn and to discover. Most of all, we can all find in these things, some way, our future too. How fortunate Generalissimo Chiang had this foresight, of all the items would have gone with the Red and their Cultural Revolution - "out with the old" massive wave of destruction.

We need more leaders like that to protect humanity...


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Image source: BBC News, AP