From October 2nd until October 9th 2005 the director of the National Museum of Afghanistan, Omara Khan Massoudi, visited the Netherlands. Massoudi has been safeguarding important parts of the museum’s collection during the Taliban regime at considerable risk of his own life. He has been granted the Prince Claus Award for his work to rehabilitate the museum and to prevent the looting of important historical and cultural locations.
The Prince Claus Fund, together with the Veerstichting and the National Museum of Ethnology, and the Research School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies (CNWS), Leiden University, invited Massoudi to the Netherlands. The Veerstichting organises its annual conference in Leiden under the theme topic “courage is a must” (in Dutch: Moed Moet). Massoudi will deliver a speech about his experience protecting the cultural inheritance against the Taliban regime and the courage which is needed for a safe future of Afghanistan.
Portrait Omara Khan Massoudi, courtesy: Omara Khan Massoudi
Restoring a statue of the Buddha in the National Museum of
Afghanistan, courtesy: Omara Khan Massoudi
Destroyed by war, fragment of a statue in the National Museum of Afghanistan, courtesy: Omara Khan Massoudi
