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Journalism of Courage
BAMIYAN (AFGHANISTAN), December 22: For centuries they have gazed benevolently from their mountain homes as wars raged across the Afghan plains. But now the two massive Buddha statues could themselves become casualties.
Frescoes on the walls surrounding the statues, as well as grottoes dug in the fifth and sixth centuries by Buddhist monks, have all but disappeared through neglect.
Previously protected by hordes of pilgrims, the statues, 55 metres and 38 metres high, are now only visited by children who love to climb them in spite of the danger.
The grottoes which pepper the sides of the mountains were built by the monks as living quarters. They are now occupied by refugees, many of whom are fleeing the Taliban.
The arrival of Islam in the valley also led to the mutilation of the statues, which have managed to retain their heads but have had noses, ears, eyes and mouths defaced.
But it is not just their size which makes the statues unique. Both are dressed in togas of a Grecian style imported into India by the soldiers of Alexander the Great when he invaded the region in 334-327 B C. Inspired by one invader, they now face possible destruction from another – the Taliban.
Abdul Wahid, leading the Taliban fight against the Hezb-I-Wahdat who currently hold the region, threatened in April to blow up the statues if he captured the area. He said they represented a pre-Islamic Afghanistan which was of no interest. “These statues are not Islamic and we should destroy them.”
For the moment, however, the pleas of the international community to preserve the masterpieces have apparently earned a reprieve.
Taliban Minister for Culture and Information Mullah Amirkahn Muttagi said no decision had been taken on the statues. Later, the Taliban’s supreme leader, Mullah Omar, said they would not be destroyed as they were “not part of a religious cult.”
