Barbara Walters chats with Forward Syria
Swaying between art and seduction
Discussing monetary policy with the man in charge
Where the earth screams in horror
02/01/2010 - Issue 36
A national duty
The need for a collective effort to preserve the belongings of Syria’s historical figuresby Sami Moubayed
I just drove back from Beirut where among other things I heard an interesting debate about the residence of ex-Lebanese president Fouad Shihab in Jounieh, which has recently been sold and will be transformed into a restaurant called, Mataam al-Mir (as Emir Fouad was known prior to assuming the presidency in 1958).
The argument struck on a particular raw nerve, reminding me of how vital it was to preserve the homes and belongings of those who helped create the Syria we live in – the artists, politicians, journalists and officers.
Independent efforts have been made in the past, to preserve the homes of the nationalist leader Fakhri al-Barudi, for example, or General Yusuf al-Azma, who died combating the invading French Army in 1920. Twenty years down the road, the renovation projects for both of these homes are sadly still underway.
The home of ex-prime minister Khaled al-Azm in Suq Saruja, has been transformed into the Museum of Historical Documents and more recently, the residence of Sultan Pasha al-Atrash, commander of the Syrian Revolt of 1925, has been transformed into a museum.
More, however, has yet to be done.
The residence of former President Hafez al-Assad during his tenure as Minister of Defense in the 1960s, located at the end of Pakistan Street in the Syrian capital, should be made into a museum as should the residence of former president Shukri al-Quwatli.
We need to put a collective effort, additionally, into preserving the belongings of these historical figures. Why don’t we have a museum that contains the fez of Syria’s first president Mohammad Ali al-Abid, the papers of his successor Hashem al-Atasi, or the hand-written manuscripts of pioneer journalists like Najib al-Rayyes or Nasuh Babil? One answer is that the families of these personalities, in many cases, threw away their belongings, thinking that they were useless.
I know for a fact, however, that the pen in which the Syrian-Egyptian union was signed by president Quwatli in 1958, is in the safe hands of the Presidential Palace’s former secretary-general Abdullah Khani.
I know the personal library of Syria’s legendary playwright Saadallah Wannus is in the safe keeping of his wife who tried – and failed – to get the Assad National Library to preserve them.
My great uncle was a pioneer of Syrian radio in the 1940s. When he died in 2005, his material belongings – TV set, carpets, and china – were immediately sought after by family members. I went for the photographs and papers. Among other things, I found a signed photo from Egyptian crooner Abdul Halim Hafez, and a signed autograph by the Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev.
I found coins dating back to the Ottoman era, a list of expenses dating to 1943, and worn out tracing paper, taken from his father’s archives, regarding establishment of the Syrian Musical Academy in 1928. He was neither a Pavarotti nor a Sabah Fakhri, yet his belongings were of enormous artistic and social value, mirroring a bygone era of Syria’s not-too distant past.
A few years later, I pressed one of my friends into digging out the medals and uniform of his father, a decorated war hero who died young in the 1980s. After much ado, he succeeded in finding a colorful assortment of senior war medals, along with well preserved cigars, pen, gloves, and reading glasses, which are now neatly on display in a showcase in his home.
They should be at the National Museum of Syria. The papers of former Prime Minister Jamil Mardam Bey are shamefully sitting in a basement in Cairo, waiting to be read – and published, by Syrian historians.
The papers of ex-Premiere Muhsen al-Barazi are suffering the same miserable fate in Amman. Even worse, we have absolutely no clue where the papers of Yusuf al-Azma really are, nor those of former prime minister Saadallah al-Jabiri.
Where are the papers, the cars, the furniture, the items of clothing, and the coat of arms of the men and women who shaped the history of this nation?
In as much as they would hate to admit it, these belongings belong not to them but to the people of Syria, who they served with unwavering loyalty in youth, manhood, and old age.
