I loved your story about Quebec (your photos are downright wonderful) and want to help you get back to French. Here is another story, about another great, great city called Babylon (in French : Babylone).
You might have heard that US and then Polish troops had been establishing their camp right next to the archeological site.
It seemed that building helipads and troop tents, digging a dozen trenches (up to 170m long) "made into previously undisturbed archaeological", were not the best idea for the old stones close at hand. Here is an article published in Le Monde about it (to train our French), referring to a report made in 2005 by the keeper of the Middle East collections at the British Museum, John Curtis, about the "crisis in Iraqi cultural heritage".Believe it or not, the Polish radio celebrates Polish troops for protecting the site from looters. Quote:
'Any report on Babylon should start by saying that the Americans and the Poles saved Babylon for our civilisation, because that is the truth. If it wasn't for the Americans, Babylon would have been looted like all other museums in Iraq ... and we would now be buying back Babylon artifacts on bazaars and markets' End of quote, end of partial truths trying to hide devastating incompetence.
You can find a lot more documentation on the issue on that blog dedicated to "The Iraq War & Archaeology", on the website of Wien University. Facts and scientists seem not be so enthusiastic as the Polish radio.
2 comments:
First of all, I didn't know that Polish contribute to this #@$%& war or what in Iraqi. Do Hungarian or French troops present there too?
I know that Canadians were forced to participate. How about the belgian army?
I have seen statues and buildings destroyed there, that was a painful sight already (now they make a nice spot for future McDonald's I guess) but I somehow didn't realize that Babylon is also there, protected now by military tents and barracks.
New item added to the already endless list of losses through nonsense wars...
I quite enjoyed the French text, I understood more than I expected, things like "patrimoine mondial" :))
I am so happy you read the article with a rewarding pleasure. I am sure you would understand more French than you expect in a lot of situations. Well, as of French participation to the war, you might remember it is one of our best (and only good) legacy from Chirac, who stood against Bush about the lack of preparation of the Irak war. For Hungary, alas! don't you dream... All of the Eastern European countries are so eagerly trying to get the most possible from the US that they would abide any whim. Remember the radars and anti-missile batteries earlier this year? It is high time Europe puts up proper tools for a unified diplomatic and military position. About Belgium, I really don't know.
For Eastern Europe and Irak you might have a look at that: it's depressing, they are all there. Or here for an authorized source.
Well, now the tents have gone, and the site had been closed "until damage is known". That was in 2005... No news of it until now, apart from that report by globalpolicy.org, in June 2007, in which you learn that after denying having done any harm, "Poland later Apologizes for Damage Troops Inflicted on Babylon".
Hurray. Now I get some sleep. Have a nice afternoon, nana.
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