Bustan al-Qasimi 12/06/2015

Due to the ongoing political crisis, Yemen is facing a terrible humanitarian and cultural catastrophe. More than 40 heritage sites are already among the casualties of the conflict, representing a fatal wound to Yemen’s cultural identity. Without the tangible evidence of the past – cultural properties – the relationship between past, present and future becomes increasingly difficult to sustain. When cultural goods are lost it is impossible to replace them. Thus, just as an individual without a memory becomes dysfunctional, likewise, a community or society without memory – its cultural heritage – can become dysfunctional.