Architecture and War Zones

APEX BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS
The Role of Mangers

in Managing change
[Document subtitle]
Architecture and War Zones 2/25/2014
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The Ugly face of War
Architecture and War Zones
The destruction of Cities and the
Demise of World Heritage sites
Hector Chapa Sikazwe, 2014
Keywords
UNESCO, World heritage sites, Architecture, Egypt, Afghanistan, Libya, Syrian War, Bahrain, UN,
Obama, Taliban, Architectural heritage, Insurgents, Allied forces, building after war, Culture, World
greed, building engineers, peace, Islamic expansion, terrorism, reconstruction after war.
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Table of Contents
Keywords ........................................................................................................................................................ 2
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................................... 5
1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 7
2.0 International law ................................................................................................................................ 9
3.0 War in the Middle East ..................................................................................................................... 10
3.1 Afghanistan Conflict ...................................................................................................................... 10
3.2 Syrian conflict ............................................................................................................................... 14
3.3 Libyan Conflict .............................................................................................................................. 19
3.4 Egyptian conflict ........................................................................................................................... 21
3.5 Israeli and Palestinian conflict ...................................................................................................... 24
4.0 UNESCO tears ................................................................................................................................... 27
4.1 Bahrain mosque destruction ......................................................................................................... 28
4.1.2 The Momen mosque ............................................................................................................ 28
4.1.3 Amir Mohammed Braighi ...................................................................................................... 29
4.1.4 Pearl Roundabout in Bahrain ................................................................................................ 29
4.2 USA-Twin towers destruction-New York Skyline changed forever ................................................ 30
4.3 The Al-Omari Mosque (Syria) ........................................................................................................ 31
4.4 Syrian destruction of World heritage sites.................................................................................... 31
4.4.1 Palmyra remains (Syrian World heritage site) ....................................................................... 31
4.4.2 The Umayyad Mosque (Damascus, Syria) ............................................................................. 32
4.4.3 Aleppo's historic souk Market (Syria) .................................................................................... 34

4.5 Afghanistan treasures ................................................................................................................... 35
4.5.1 The Buddhas of Banyan statues (Afghanistan) ...................................................................... 35
4.6 General defacing and destruction of Cityscapes by war and terrorism ........................................ 37
4.6.1 Kenyan, Somalian and USA terror attacks. ............................................................................ 37
5.0 Architects and war Zone areas response .......................................................................................... 38
5.1 United Nations Office for the coordination of humanitarian (UN OCHA) ..................................... 39
5.2 Architectural institutions training of Architects ............................................................................ 41
5.3 BIM and disaster management ..................................................................................................... 42
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5.5 Architects innovation a must ........................................................................................................ 43
6.0 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 44
7.0 References and Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 47
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Abstract
Buildings and heritage sites form the legacy of many facets of life ranging from design, music,
religion, romance, cultures, and traditions and even more importantly, preserves civilisation progress
history. Architects and building designers all over the world take pride in knowing that they can be
party to the preservation of history through expression in structures and objects of Art that they
participate in shaping. Some of these structures have been adopted by UNESCO as world heritage
sites as they have a significance in the preservation of human heritage.
World Heritage sites are places around the world that have been internationally recognized for their
outstanding value as natural and cultural treasures. There are a lot of locations designated as World
Heritage sites, such as Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Stonehenge, the Galapagos Islands, the
Pyramids of Egypt, and the Great Wall of China.World Heritage sites1 also include a diverse range
of places, such as the Acropolis in Athens, Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Sri Lanka's Sinharaja
Forest Reserve and Uganda's Rwenzori Mountains National Park. These locales can teach us much
about the nature and cultures of the world we live in.
The concept behind keeping structures and places as World Heritage places means they belong to
all of us, not to any one nation, and we should all protect and enjoy them. World Heritage sites often
feature rare and beautiful natural phenomena, endangered habitat, rich biological diversity or striking
land features. China's Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, Honduras' Ro Pltano Biosphere Reserve
and Canada's Dinosaur Provincial Park represent such phenomena, respectively.
Unfortunately, these Middle East World heritage locales have in the last decade been put under threat
as war has ravaged the Middle East and in some cases reduced some of these places to rubble. It all
got exacerbated with the start of the Iraq war in March 2003 when the allied forces led by the USA
and Great Britain raided Iraq with the pretext of finding weapons of Mass destruction (WMD) that
Saddam Hussein apparently possessed.
In the process, many lives perished, buildings were leveled to the ground and an entire civilization
1
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5513442_world-heritage-sites-important.html#ixzz2sk6cZeVW
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completely wiped out without finding a single iota of the sought for WMD.
Mans wars have indeed been the most destructive source of World heritage sites other than the
natural denudation that comes from natures forces. The destruction of buildings in Bahrain, Egypt,
Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon and now the entire Somalian peninsula on the African continent
makes morbid recollection of how impossible it is to rebuild and hopefully restore the Architectural
and aesthetic significance of the destroyed World heritage treasure.
This simple discourse serves to remind the World of the ugly evils of war and the significantly
impact it has on the built environment other than the geopolitical changes that take place when man
decides to self-destruct and annihilate entire civilizations through wanton wars. These wars are
founded on greed, international hegemony by the five super powers and recently by the toxic Islamic
expansion of the religion through anti-western acts of terrorism through bombs planted in uniquely
designed Mosques and Islamic structures, western owned buildings and generally irreplaceable
Architectural structures.
The destruction of property of religious or cultural significance is an emotive issue wherever it takes
place. In the Middle East, some cases receive more media attention than others. Recent destruction
of Muslim places of worship by Arab regimes in Syria and Bahrain has attracted no media
condemnation, in stark contrast with any hint of disrespect shown by Israel to buildings of
significance to Muslims or Christians.
This paper does not intend to hold a religious, political or even an ideological position other than the
protest that buildings and World heritage sites are being destroyed by unwarranted animosity
derived from warring factions who have failed to resolve differences without resorting to the wiping
away the Architectural and built environment heritage of the world we live in. This paper is given
from an Architects passion decrying this problem that is now becoming the new normal as an
entire civilization is wiped off the map of the World.
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1.0 Introduction
World Heritage sites are not museums, they are living communities. Many families depend on World
Heritage for their livelihoods, and anything that affects World Heritage also impacts the people who
live in and around these special sites. That is why it is important to find ways to preserve and protect
World Heritage that also benefit the community. While UNESCO respects a countrys right to
control its own property, the idea behind World Heritage is that there are some sites that are so
important to the worlds culture and history that the international community as a whole should take
the responsibility for their protection. UNESCO2 states that heritage is our legacy from the past,
what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural
heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration.
What makes the concept of World Heritage exceptional is its universal application? World Heritage
sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located.
Internationally provided funds help preserve important sites in countries that dont have enough
funding of their own.
World Heritage status can bring enormous prestige to a site and help foster social cohesion and pride
in a local community. It may help to promote the site internationally and attract new visitors, if
appropriate, and encourages the highest quality standards for welcoming visitors and managing the
site and can act as the focus for tourism and economic regeneration. It also means international
accountability.
Other than providing the much needed economic activity for a Nation, National heritage sites also
provide Architectural identity for a Nation and its preservation makes up the value added description
that a Nation has. Architects and building designers have a corporate responsibility to actively
participate in providing a guard against any form of threat to this asset. Many building and structural
professionals have played a blind attitude towards this aspect of being custodians of the built
environment.
2
http://whc.unesco.org/en/about/
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The results of war are always devastating, leaving cities and the surrounding countryside scarred,
and the people traumatized. Consideration has to be given to the long-term effects of violence on the
people, and that the physical damage of the city and the psychological damage to the people are
inextricably linked. Architects are primarily concerned with designing environments. The Architect
has to design in a manner that brings about harmonization of the new with the existing, based on a
detailed understanding of the scientific, functional, aesthetic and management considerations
involved and their interaction with the various factors that affect the environment after conflict.
The Architect has an extremely important role to study the extent of physical destruction in detail,
and make an inventory of areas beyond repair and areas that will benefit from restoration and
renovation. This provides a foundation on which the reconstruction process will start. It is also
important to audit the extent and varying causes of psychological trauma to the community resulting
from such destruction. Examples are the changes in family life, the effects of widespread
bereavement and the loss of employment for many individuals. This means the Architect needs to
be sensitive when considering a design solutions.
Once this has been done there is an opportunity to create a new framework for the structure of the
city that will take into account the feelings of the people, its history and its future role and in most
extreme cases, attempt to restore the City to its original state. If there was a World heritage site, the
role of the Architect becomes complicated and may demand the services of other professionals like
Archeologists, historians, tradesmen and local input from the same devastated community
inhabitants. All this would not be necessary if there was no war in the first place and this paper is an
attempt to show the ugly face of war and its impact on the role of Architecture in a war zone. The
preservation of World heritage sites becomes the key objective for Architects to try and restore
normality to a community after the conflict is over.
War has the unwanted trauma on humans, destruction of infrastructure, loss of employment,
bereavement, displacement and unwanted migration, community fragmentation, increased cases of
mental illness, housing shortage, general shelter and medical challenges. In addition to physical
problems both exacerbated and caused by war, emotional problems could also be brought on by
battle and Architects and designers have these issues to contend with. Fortunately, the UN has
recognized these aspects and legal solutions have been put into place to assist with finding answers.
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2.0 International law
All sites are protected by the 1972 World Heritage Convention, which is administered by the World
Heritage Center at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The World Heritage Convention, has been ratified by 187 countries, and was adopted by United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) General Conference in
1972, but came into force in 1975, for the:
Identification, protection, conservation, presentation and transmission to future generations of

the world cultural and natural heritage.
Under this international legal instrument, sites are nominated for inclusion on the World Heritage
List, either for their natural or cultural values, or a mixture of the two. There are currently 851 World
Heritage sites, 660 cultural, 166 natural, and 25 mixed properties in 141 countries. Places as unique
and diverse as the wilds of East Africas Serengeti, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in
Australia and the Baroque cathedrals of Latin America make up the worlds heritage and are properly
protected by law.
World Heritage Sites3 are places on earth that are of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) to
humanity and therefore, have been inscribed on the World Heritage List to be protected for future
generations. Legal recognition and protection by national government is a definite requisite for these
sites. World Heritage Sites also have direct recognition in international law that states that
Activities must not negatively affect sites Outstanding Universal Value.

As such, the World Heritage Committee has adopted a policy, through precedent setting, for zero
tolerance of mining and hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation within World Heritage Sites.
Ironically, though the United States of America have participated in the destruction of some of these
heritage sites, it was the first signatory of the World Heritage Convention of 1972.
3
http://whc.unesco.org/en/about/
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3.0 War in the Middle East
The Middle East is well endowed with the most important commodity for industry: Oil. That is what
the modern Middle Eastern geopolitics have usually been about. Irrespective of the political
utterances from western Countries regarding security, humanitarian reasons or even intervention to
protect communities, the hidden reason behind the engagement has always been for the purpose of
controlling and directing the appropriation of this commodity. Given the vast energy resources that
form the backbone of western economies, influence and involvement in the Middle East has been of
paramount importance for the former and current imperial and super powers, including France,
Britain, USA and the former Soviet Union.
Due to the divide that still exist between the Western allies and the so called Eastern
communist/socialist Countries, the scramble for control of the resource found in the Middle East has
always resulted in war with varied involvement by the two warring factions. The scramble for loyalty
and alignment with the Countries in the Middle East has always resulted in conflict that has affected
the Countries in question. Though having what is famously known as black Gold under their
Country boundaries, these Countries have continued to experience some of the worst economically
viable economies due to relinquishing and handing over the sell and prospecting for their treasure to
external powers. Due to disagreements at times in how the oil deals are handled in the Middle East,
wars and rumors of wars have embattled the region and repeated conflict has been the acceptable
system of community survival. Some Countries have suffered more than others and a little look at
some of these Countries would be appropriate.
3.1 Afghanistan Conflict
Left ravaged by centuries of invasion and infighting, Afghanistan showed signs of progress after the
fall of the Taliban in 2002. However, the central Asian country has since lost traction as the
government of Hamid Karzai struggles to retain any control outside of the capital city of Kabul, and
Taliban forces show signs of resurgence. Although the international spotlight has only turned to
Afghanistan in the last few decades, the country has a long and often turbulent history of invasion
and infighting, dating back to at least 550 B.C.
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Afghanistan's history, internal political development, foreign relations, and very existence as an
independent state have largely been determined by its geographic location at the crossroads of
Central, West, and South Asia. Over the centuries,
waves of migrating peoples passed through the region
described as a roundabout of the ancient world, by
historian Arnold Toynbee--leaving behind a mosaic of
ethnic and linguistic groups. In modern times, as well as in
antiquity, vast armies of the world passed through
Afghanistan, temporarily establishing local control and often dominating Iran and northern India. In
637 A.D., only five years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, Arab Muslims shattered the
might of the Iranian Sassanians at the battle of Qadisiya,4 and the invaders began to reach into the
lands east of Iran. By the middle of the eighth century, the rising Abbasid Dynasty was able to
subdue the Arab invasion, putting an end to the prolonged
struggle. Peace prevailed under the rule of the caliph
Harun al Rashid (785-809) and his son, and learning
flourished in such Central Asian cities as Samarkand.
From the seventh through the ninth centuries, most
inhabitants of what is present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan,
southern parts of the former Soviet Union, and areas of northern India were converted to Sunni
Islam.
The area's heterogeneous groups were not bound into a single political entity until the reign of
Ahmad Shah Durrani, who in 1747 founded the monarchy that ruled the country until 1973. In the
nineteenth century, Afghanistan lay between the expanding might of the Russian and British
empires. Islam played a key role in the formation of Afghan history as well. Despite the Mongol5
invasion of Afghanistan in the early thirteenth century which has been described as resembling
more some brute cataclysm of the blind forces of nature than a phenomenon of human history,
4
The Battle of al-Qdisiyyah was fought in 636, was the decisive engagement between the Arab Muslim army and the
Sassanid Persian army during the first period of Muslim expansion. It resulted in the Islamic conquest of Persia and
was key to the conquest of Iraq. The battle also saw the alleged alliance of Emperor Yazdegerd III with Byzantine
Emperor Heraclius, who married his granddaughter Manyanh to Yazdegerd as a symbol of alliance.
5
http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h11mon.htm
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even a warrior as formidable as Genghis Khan6 did not uproot Islamic civilization, and within two
generations his heirs had become Muslims. Islam plays the biggest cohesion force in the Country.
The Mongols were illiterate, religiously shamanistic and perhaps no more than 700,000 in number.
Their language today is described as Altaic, a language unrelated to Chinese, derived from
inhabitants in the Altay mountain range in western Mongolia, a language unrelated to Chinese. They
were herdsmen on the grassy plains north of the Gobi Desert and south of Siberian forests. Before
the year 1200, the Mongols were fragmented, moving about in small bands headed by a chief, or
khan, and living in portable felt dwellings, called by the Mongols " ger." The Mongols endured
frequent deprivations and sparse areas for grazing their
animals. They frequently fought over turf, and during hard
times they occasionally raided, interested in goods rather than
bloodshed. They did not collect heads or scalps as trophies
and did not notch wood to record their kills.
The conflict in Afghanistan has placed several historic cities and buildings in grave danger from a
heritage standpoint. With all eyes focused on the war, ancient Middle Eastern history7 has suffered
from a lack of preservation effort. Afghanistan's descent into conflict and instability in recent times
began with the overthrow of the king in 1973. Zahir Shah8 was in Italy for an eye operation when he
was deposed in a palace coup by his cousin, Mohammad Daoud9. Daoud declared Afghanistan a
republic, with himself as president. He relied on the support of leftists to consolidate his power, and
crushed an emerging Islamist movement.
There were too many internal conflicts that resulted in President Daoud and his family being shot
6
Genghis Khan; (11622 August 1227), born Temujin, was the founder and Great Khan (emperor) of the Mongol
Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his demise.
7
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1569826.stm
8
Mohammed Zahir Shah (October 15, 1914 July 23, 2007) was the last King of Afghanistan, reigning for four decades,
from 1933 until he was ousted by a coup in 1973. Following his return from exile, he was given the title 'Father of the
Nation' in 2002, which he held until his death
9
Sardar Mohammed Daoud Khan or Daud Khan (July 18, 1909 April 28, 1978) was Prime Minister of Afghanistan
from 1953 to 1963, and later became the President of Afghanistan. He overthrew the monarchy of his first cousin
Mohammed Zahir Shah and declared himself as the first President of Afghanistan from 1973 until his assassination in
1978 as a result of the Saur Revolution led by the Communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA).
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dead, and Nur Mohammad Taraki10 took power as head of the country's first Marxist government,
supported by the Soviets, bringing to an end more than 200 years of almost uninterrupted rule by the
family of Zahir Shah and Mohammad Daoud. In-fighting in Afghanistan resulted in a swift chain of
events in December 1979, the Soviet Red Army swept into Afghanistan. Babrak Karmal11 was flown
from Czechoslovakia, where he was Afghan ambassador, to take over as the new president, albeit as
a puppet leader acceptable to Moscow.
The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan which lasted until the final withdrawal of the Red Army in
1989, was a disaster for Afghanistan. About a million Afghans lost their lives as the Soviet Red
Army tried to impose control for its puppet Afghan government. Millions more fled abroad as
refugees. Groups of Afghan Islamic fighters or mujahedeen fought endlessly to try to force a
Soviet retreat, with much covert support from the United
States. After the Red Army left, the mujahedeen swept
victoriously into Kabul. After a short interim measure,
due to too much in-fighting and the growth of Cocaine
fields, the mujahedeen were deposed by the
Taliban who established a vicious Islamic state
under Sharia law until 1996 when the United States
invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban accusing them of hiding fugitive terrorist Osama
bin Laden. Elections were held and a puppet of the USA was crowned as the leader. Due to the
various in-fighting episodes, most cities in Afghanistan were ravaged and flattened literally in some
cases.
The damage to these sites has hurt more than just the history of the country; it has affected tourism
and the economy. In a territory that desperately needs to rebound economically, the destruction of
major tourist destinations means even less for the poverty-stricken country to draw upon during its
reconstructive years. UNESCO has come forward and expressed their concerns regarding the health
of Afghanistans historical monuments, and believes that preservation measures must be taken.
10
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nur_Muhammad_Taraki
11
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babrak_Karmal
13
Many historical monuments suffered severe damage during the war, said Sayed Makhdum
Raheen, the Afghan Minister of Information and Culture, at an October 2010 conference on culture
and sustainable development in Kabul. Several of these are in critical need of immediate
rehabilitation to preserve for the future and the promotion of tourism.
3.2 Syrian conflict
For over two years Syria has been in the grips of a civil war, which has all but leveled the country's
economy. Unfortunately, it is the City scape and the civilians who have suffered the most: Before
the war, unemployment was below 10 percent; now every second Syrian is without a job. Those who
can, often the well-educated Syrians who were being counted on to bring the country forward in
times of peace, are moving abroad.
The Syrian crisis has distinguished itself from recent clashes in the Middle East for all the wrong
reasons. It is documented knowledge that children and young people are always disproportionally
affected by the direct and indirect impacts of violent conflict, but injury and death tend to be as a
consequence of children being used in direct hostilities as combatants, or incidental victims caught
up in crossfire. Syria is no exception on these counts, but reports document additional human rights
abuses that are surprisingly grave.
Syria gained independence from France in 1946. Syrias political history has been characterized by
authoritarian military-dominated rule and an enduring perpetual State of Emergency which was
first declared in 1963 and only lifted in April 2011 as the wave of the Arab Spring reached Syria,
inspiring protests and calls for democratic rights and political reforms.
The peaceful protests that the world first saw in Dara in February 2011 were met with a brutal
response from the Syrian government security forces, igniting further protests and retaliation in other
cities across the country. Since then, the areas of anti-government protest have effectively been
under-siege, continually bombarded and attacked by Syrian security forces and pro-government
militia (known as shabiha).
Buildings have in some cases been levelled in an attempt to flash out insurgents hidden in the
buildings. A lot of buildings that identified Syria as having a vast long and ancient history with
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civilization going to the early 500 AD have been destroyed and never to be restored to their critical
condition they were in before the war started. The UN peace plan for Syria, demanding a cessation
of violence, has not been observed by either side of the conflict, denying prospects of preserving the
threatened civilization and City scape.
Syria's turmoil began with protests against President Bashar al-Assad's12 regime in March 2011. It
crossed an important threshold a year and a half later, when
the international Red Cross formally declared it a civil war.
The international community has also stepped in after
accusations of chemical weapons use in 2013 as the World
watched horrific YouTube videos13 purportedly depicting
severe use and impact of Chemical weapons being used on
civilians.
Assad's father, who came from a poor Alawite family, seized power in a 1970 coup. Hafez al-Assad14
ruled Syria with a firm hand and was accused of numerous human rights abuses over the years. He
became Prime Minister, Minister of Defense on November 21st 1970 after leading the Correction
Movement, which widely opened the party's doors to the Arab Masses.
He was elected President of the Syrian Arab Republic in a referendum held on March 12, 1971.
President Hafez al-Assad died in Damascus at the age of 69 on June 10, 2000. He was succeeded by
his son Bashar al-Assad.
Bashar Assad presented himself as a reformer when he succeeded his father in 2000. But critics have
called any changes largely superficial, and Assad's crackdown on protests in March 2011 sparked
the current civil war.
Incidentally, even during the current civil war, support for Bashar Assad has held firm among the
Alawite minority, who make up about 12 per cent of the country's population. Much of the Christian
12
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashar_al-Assad
13
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2GPTqxf8rE&bpctr=1393071747 (discretion needed to watch this)
14
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Assad.html
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minority have also backed Assad in the past, preferring his secular rule to an Islamist alternative.
Syrian authorities have demolished thousands of residential buildings using explosives and
bulldozers, a human rights group says. Human Rights Watch released photos of the devastation in
its new Razed to the Ground report.15
Damascus, the capital city of Syria has seen its share of devastation. UNESCO holds Damascus as
a key World heritage City due to its significance to the World. Founded in the 3rd millennium B.C.,
Damascus was an important cultural and commercial center, by virtue of its geographical position
at the crossroads of the orient and the occident, between Africa and Asia. The old city of Damascus
is considered to be among the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. Excavations at Tell
Ramad on the outskirts of the city have demonstrated that Damascus was inhabited as early as 8,000
to 10,000 BC. So its destruction comes as a sad development that all professionals given the
responsibility to preserve the City and its significance need to respond with one voice. Architects
should actually be in the forefront of decrying these traumatic events. In spite of Islam's prevailing
influence, traces of earlier cultures particularly the Roman and Byzantine continue to be seen in the
city. Thus the city today is based on a Roman plan and maintains the aspect and the orientation of
the Greek city, in that all its streets are oriented north-south or east-west and is a key example of
urban planning. This is now being lost in the prevailing war.
The earliest visible physical evidence dates to the Roman period - the extensive remains of the
Temple of Jupiter, the remains of various gates and an impressive section of the Roman city walls.
The city was the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate16. However, apart from the incomparable Great
Mosque, built on the site of a Roman temple and over-laying a Christian basilica, there is little visible
dating from this important era of the city's history. The present city walls, the Citadel, some mosques
and tombs survived from the Middle Ages, but the greatest part of the built heritage of the city dates
from after the Ottoman conquest of the early 16th century. This history has now been completely
15
http://www.hrw.org/node/122662/section/7
16
http://www.islamicity.com/education/ihame/?Destination=/education/ihame/4.asp&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport
=1
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disturbed and in some areas completely destroyed. This civilization will regret.
The destruction of cities in Syria have left the Country cities unrecognizable in some cases. Between
April 30 and May 15, 2013, government forces demolished the entire Wadi al-Jouz neighborhood,
a total building surface area of 10 hectares, located on the northwestern edge of Hama city.
The area Marked in RED is Wadi al-Jouz neighborhood
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Before the devastation of Wadi al-Jouz Wadi al-Jouz wiped out completely
Pro-government media claimed the authorities were removing urban irregularities that had made
the neighborhood ugly and impeded traffic but several reports elsewhere indicated the wiping out of
Wadi al-Jouz was done as an act of war to rid of the area off terrorists and insurgents. Whichever
position or story is peddled, an entire neighborhood was wiped out and affects the building and
architectural landscape and forever changes the urban appearance. According to the Human watch
report, government forces used bulldozers to destroy all the buildings in the neighborhood.
The Syrian conflict has spread into the neighboring Countries like Lebanon where ethnic conflicts
have sprung up and rival terrorist gangs are indiscriminately bombing entire civilization into
oblivion. The civil war has deviated from being a political issue between the Assad government and
the democracy demonstrators to a full-fledged war between the ethnic groups that flow into the
neighboring Countries. Human rights abuse has become the norm, rather than the forbidden.
Human rights violation documented War has spread into neighboring Lebanon
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3.3 Libyan Conflict
As most conflicts have an epicenter, the conflict in Libya arose out of protests beginning February
15, 2011, in the eastern city of Benghazi. As the Middle East caught fire with the the Arab Spring
(Arabic: , ar-rab al-arab), a term for the revolutionary wave of demonstrations and
protests (both non-violent and violent), riots, and civil wars in the Arab world that began on 18
December 2010, the Benghazi protest came as part of this wider protest movement that had spread
throughout the Middle East and North Africa. On February 23, Benghazi fell under the control of
protesters after the defection of prominent military officers stationed in the city.
In a bid to end the unrest, the Libyan government announced constitutional reforms and warned of
civil war if the protests continued. Shortly after this announcement, a total of 230 protester deaths
were reported, prompting the UN to accuse the Libyan government of committing crimes against
humanity. Following several atrocious reports and YouTube videos of the actions of Gaddafis
government, the UN Human Rights Council soon followed suit in condemning the actions of
Gaddafi's government and later acting to suspend Libya from the body, as Libyan diplomats and
government officials began to defect from Gaddafi's government, citing the violence against
protesters.
USA, Britain and France had several profitable reasons for intervening in the conflict in Libya and
it did not take long for Gaddafi to realize that the end game was in site. Demanding an immediate
ceasefire in Libya, including an end to the current attacks against civilians, which it said might
constitute crimes against humanity, the Security Council imposed a ban on all flights in Libyas
airspace a no-fly zoneand tightened sanctions on the Gadhafi regime and its supporters.
Adopting resolution 1973 (2011) by a vote of 10 in favor to none against, with 5 abstentions (Brazil,
China, Germany, India, Russian Federation), the Council authorized Member States, acting
nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, to take all necessary measures to
protect civilians under threat of attack in the country, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign
occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory. This did not seem to deter or stop the
conflict within Libya to cease or abate and as such, very quickly, military intervention was being
speculated by France and Britain with America playing a somewhat passive role. U.S. and British
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ships and submarines launched the first phase of a missile assault on Libyan air defenses, firing 112
Tomahawk cruise missiles Saturday at more than 20 coastal targets to clear the way for air patrols
to ground Libya's air force. It was clear the U.S. intended to limit its role in the Libya intervention,
focusing first on disabling or otherwise silencing Libyan air defenses, and then leaving it to European
and perhaps Arab countries to enforce a no-fly zone over the North African nation. These bombing
exercises, though declared Limited destroyed several streets and buildings to a point it was not
possible to continue pretending that the strikes were point precision because many buildings and
lives were lost in the process.
Following this international intervention and several months of stalemate, opposition forces finally
seized control of Tripoli, the Libyan capital, and later captured and killed Gaddafi on October 20,
2011 as he tried to flee from his home city of Sirte. Rebuilding the Country was going to be a huge
task as the indiscriminate bombing and shelling of streets by both Gaddafi and the allied forces
defaced and destroyed the City scape:
Sirte after Gaddafi.

The shelling of Misrata,
20
Cities in Libya were unrecognizable Streets totally destroyed in Libya
The Battle of Sirte was the final battle of the Libyan civil war, when the National Liberation Army
attacked the last remnants of the Libyan army still loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in his hometown and
designated capital of Sirte, on the Gulf of Sidra. Incidentally, by September 2011, Sirte and Bani
Walid were the only last two strongholds of Gaddafi loyalists and the NTC hoped that the fall of
Sirte would bring the war to an end.
The battle and its aftermath marked the final collapse of the four-decade Gaddafi regime. Gaddafi
himself was wounded and captured as he attempted to flee the city, and killed in custody less than
an hour later. The month-long battle left Sirte almost completely in ruins, with many buildings
damaged or totally destroyed, making the City the most devastated city after Misrata.
The work of the international community to rebuild these Cities are definitely going to be extremely
difficult as the Nation has been divided on tribal and ethnic lines with a lot of distrust for the allied
forces on their real motive for intervening.
3.4 Egyptian conflict
It may be a popular tourist destination, but across Egypt, the common person does not appreciate
nor even feel the impact of the tourist input into the economy both in cities and rural areas. Millions
live in poverty, scrounging for a living considering 12% of the population is unemployed, and with
many unable to afford to complete their education, the chances of this improving are slim, continuing
the cycle of poverty. Conflict and War that has now gripped the Country has not only exacerbated
the situation but has also defaced and destroyed the City scape, threatening the very pride of the
21
Nation, tourism. The ugly hand of war in particular has left multitudes of Egyptians and far more
reaching disabled the Egyptian population who not only suffers from a lack of services and facilities
for them but has left millions living with physical or mental disabilities, where there is little scope
for them to join society, and this feeling of exclusion only adds to the existing suffering masses
plight.
The Egyptian Revolution of 25 of January 2011, also known as the Lotus Revolution17, started as a
diverse movement of demonstrations, marches, plaza occupations, riots, non-violent civil resistance,
acts of civil disobedience and labor strikes which took place following a popular uprising. Millions
of protesters from a variety of socio-economic and religious backgrounds demanded the overthrow
of the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. There were also important Islamic, liberal, anti-
capitalist, nationalist, and feminist currents of the revolution. Violent clashes between security forces
and protesters resulted in at least 846 people killed and 100,000 injured. Protesters also burned
upwards of 90 police stations. Protests took place in Cairo, Alexandria, and in other cities in Egypt,
following the Tunisian revolution that resulted in the overthrow of the long-time Tunisian president.
Grievances of Egyptian protesters were focused on legal and political issues including police
brutality, state of emergency laws, lack of free elections and freedom of speech, corruption, and
economic issues including high unemployment, food price inflation and low wages. The primary
demands from protesters were the end of the Hosni Mubarak regime, the end of emergency law,
freedom, justice, a responsive non-military government and a say in the management of Egypt's
resources. Strikes by labor unions added to the pressure on government officials.
During the uprising the capital city of Cairo was described as a war zone and the port city of Suez
saw frequent violent clashes. The protesters defied the government imposed curfew and the police
and military did not enforce it. The presence of Egypt's Central Security Forces police, loyal to
Mubarak, was gradually replaced by large restrained military troops. In the absence of police, there
was looting by gangs that opposition sources said were instigated by plainclothes police officers. In
response, watch groups were organized by civilians to protect neighborhoods.
17
http://en.cyclopaedia.net/wiki/The-Lotus-Revolution
22
Defaced Cairo street Cairo looked like a War Zone
Streets completely destroyed in Egypt Buildings torched and never to be the same
The burning down of buildings, libraries, theatres and old sites of World heritage in Egypt was
internationally regarded as a destruction of civilization. Hundreds of rare manuscripts and maps,
including the maps used in 1989 Israeli withdrawal from Taba,
were destroyed as rioters set fire to a library in the Cairo's

Scientific Complex in the fourth day of clashes between
protesters and security forces. Looters destroyed two
mummies and smashed artefacts from the Cairo museum,
which was considered to be one of the most important cultural
archives in the world.
The destruction of buildings has repeatedly been an issue for the world as it watches valued artefacts
turned into rubble. The Egyptian conflicts destruction of the Worlds most precious relics is a major
23
concern not only for the local tourist industry but for Architects and Archeologists who fear a huge
chunk of civilization records have been destroyed and never to be replaced.
As the world watches, these artefacts contained in buildings that had housed them for centuries were
razed to the ground resulting in many fears of civilization being lost irretrievably.
3.5 Israeli and Palestinian conflict
Most conflicts have an end in sight, no matter how complex they are. But the Israeli/Palestinian
conflict is one conflict that transcends human understanding as it covers history, religion in general,
Islamaphobia, terrorism, economy, geography, ethnicity, racism, apartheid, Zionism, pride, greed,
homogeny, imperialism, hegemony18 , colonialism and so many facets of undue control. Its a pity
that no matter how many treaties and international agreements/pacts are signed to resolve the conflict
between these two States, the heat has continued being perpetrated with varying intensity depending
on what either party decides to pursue. The conflict between Israel and the Palestinian State has
continued being the key sticking point for almost all wars and disagreements that cover the Middle
East. Nations are either pro-Israel or Pro-Palestinian cause and the division has never seen closure
over decades of wars and conflicts generated therefrom.
History's legacy has created divisive issues between Palestinians and Israelis. Judea, home of the
Jews in ancient times, was conquered by the Romans and renamed Palestine. 19 Palestine was later
conquered and inhabited by Arabs for over a thousand years. The Zionist movement arose to restore
the Jews to Israel, largely ignoring the existing Arab population. Following the Balfour Declaration
18
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hegemony
19
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_and_Judaism_in_the_Land_of_Israel
24
in 1917, Palestine was granted to Britain as a League of Nations mandate to build a national home
for the Jewish people.
The Balfour Declaration was a short letter by Arthur Balfour to arguably one of the most influential
Jewish families - the Rothschild's. On November 2nd 1917, Arthur James Balfour, the British
Foreign Secretary of the time, wrote to Lord Rothschild. The Rothschilds were considered by many
Jews to be one the most influential of all Jewish families they were certainly one of the wealthiest.
Their influence in America was considered to be very important to the British government. It was
assumed that the letter gave the British government's support to the creation of a Jewish homeland.
Below is the letter that gave the Jews courage that Britain was going to support the creation of a
Jewish State in the Arab land:
Foreign Office
November 2nd, 1917
Dear Lord Rothschild,
I have much pleasure in conveying to you on behalf of His Majestys government, the following declaration
of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved, by the Cabinet:
His Majestys Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish
people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly
understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-
Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.
I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.
Yours,
Arthur James Balfour
This communication was accepted by the Jewish community as Great Britains support for a Jewish
homeland. Other nations that fought for the Allies offered their support for the declaration. However,
from a Palestinian Arab point of view, the same area had been promised to them for siding with the
Allies in World War One and fighting against the Turks who were fighting on the side of the
Germans.
The Arabs deeply resented the Jews coming in to take their land. Led by Grand Mufti Hajj Amin El
Husseini, they rioted repeatedly and later revolted, creating a history of enmity between Jews and
25
Arabs in Palestine. Resulting from these protests, Britain stopped Jewish immigration to Palestine.
Following the Holocaust, in which 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis, pressure on Britain
increased to allow Jewish immigration to Palestine.
Significantly, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict erupted in 1947 when the UN partitioned the land into
Arab and Jewish states. The Arabs did not accept the partition and war broke out. The Jews won a
decisive victory, expanded their state and created several hundred thousand Palestinian refugees.
The Arab states refused to recognize Israel or make peace with it. Wars broke out in 1956, 1967,
1973 and 1982, and there were many terror raids and Israeli reprisals. Unfortunately, each side
believes a different version of the same history. Each side views the conflict as wholly the fault of
the other and expects an apology for the conflict to end.
The Conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has over time destroyed buildings, infrastructure,
lives, civilization, artefacts, peace and more than anything else, the legacy that UNESCO so badly
want to maintain preserved. The land that is being destroyed contains the Christian history, Islamic
history, Judaism history, Arab history, Jewish history. The World will one day realize that the
destruction of the built environment through war and unnecessary conflict is a disservice to
civilization and the preservation of the built environment.
26
At the heart of the Israel/Palestine conflict lies the question of land and who rules it. The collision
of Jewish nationalist colonization and Palestinian nationalism, both laying claim to the same
territory, forms the basis of this long conflict, deepened by the tragedies of the Holocaust and of the
dispossession and occupation of Palestine. The United Nations partition of the land in 1947, an effort
to resolve the two claims simultaneously, did not result in a lasting settlement. Israel has occupied
the West bank and Gaza Strip (about 2,200 square miles) since the 1967 6-day war, and has built
settlements with a population of about 220,000, mostly in the West Bank. Palestinians demand
withdrawal from all of the land conquered in the 1967 and evacuation of the settlements. Israel has
continued to expand settlements throughout the peace process that began in 1993 and continues to
do so today.
Almost all Palestinian groups were founded with the declared aim of destroying Israel by violence,
and had a history of terrorist activities. Only the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) has
renounced this aim officially. In 1993, the PLO signed the Oslo Declaration of Principles,
renouncing violence and agreeing to honor UN SC Resolution 242, which implicitly recognizes the
right of Israel to exist.
4.0 UNESCO tears20

On Aug 11, 2006, the Director-General of UNESCO, Kochiro Matsuura, launched a tearful alert to
protect heritage in the Middle East. He lamented and stated in part the following:
"UNESCO has already launched two urgent appeals to the belligerents to ensure that the hostilities
spare the site and its surroundings, which are part of the ancestral heritage of humanity, and avert
the total destruction feared by all. I am compelled to renew this appeal and extend it to the other
20
http://www.flickr.com/photos/j-fish/galleries/72157632567111745/
27
cultural and historical heritage sites of the region, which are also facing serious threat. My
compassion goes first to the men, women and, especially, the children, who are experiencing the
ordeal of fire, shelling and despair. Nevertheless, we must also think about our immense
responsibility towards sites such as Tyre, Baalbek, Byblos, Anjar, the Holy Valley and the Forest of
the Cedars of God, in Lebanon, and the Old City of Acre in Israel. All these names - names that stir
the imagination - are symbols of the encounter of religions and cultures that are universally
recognized as our common heritage. This is why, in keeping with The Hague Convention for the
Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954), and by virtue of the
Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972),
conventions of which both Israel and Lebanon are signatories, I solemnly request that all necessary
measures be taken to safeguard and protect these cultural properties of inestimable value. We must
ensure that they survive to be handed down to future generations, just as previous generations
handed them down to us.21
Examples of what is now recorded as the tearful warning was directed at is seen in the following
unforgivable examples of buildings in several Middle East Countries that will never be replaced:
4.1 Bahrain mosque destruction

4.1.2 The Momen mosque
Before After
This is all that remains of a 400 year old Shiite Mosque in Bahrain,22 destroyed by Saudi-backed
Bahraini forces. The Momen mosque in Nwaidrat was a handsome, simple building that stood in
21
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/276/
22
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/05/06/113837/the-lost-mosques-of-bahrain.html#storylink=cpy
28
the same location for generations- until it was bulldozed by government forces.
4.1.3 Amir Mohammed Braighi
Before After
400 year old Amir Mohammed Braighi Mosque 23 destroyed by the regime in Bahrain This
destruction of the mosque has been so brutal that a lot of Middle East journalists and media owners
wondered why the Bahrain regeme wantonly destroyed the mosque without having regard for the
Natioal heritage this mosque represented.
4.1.4 Pearl Roundabout in Bahrain

23
https://twitter.com/ahmedali_/status/152570168793497600
29
These are photographs of the destruction of a beautiful monument at Pearl Roundabout in Bahrain
that was destroyed and such a beautiful structure affects the Architectural profile of a nation forever.
It does not matter how beautiful the new design is going to be, the landscape is destroyed and can
never be reconstructed again.
4.2 USA-Twin towers destruction-New York Skyline changed forever
The New York skyline was changed forever after toxic Islamic terrorists chose to resolve their
grievances through carrying out acts of terrorism that destroyed and changed the New York skyscape
forever. These acts have changed the built environment and makes all civilised communities to
condemn and lament the destruction of the twin towers that represented the USAs pillar and
pinnacle of economic and Country identity, a civilisation memory tampered with.
30
4.3 The Al-Omari Mosque (Syria)
Before After
The Al-Omari Mosque (Arabic: ) was an early Islamic-era mosque in the Roman city
of Bosra, Syria. The mosque was one of the oldest surviving mosques in Islamic history. It was
founded by Caliph Umar, who led the Muslim conquest of Syria. The mosque was completed in 721
by the Caliph Yazid II and renovated and expanded in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by the
Ayyubids who also fortified the Roman theatre and baths. The mosque was flattened by the Syrian
government24 and the criminal demolition of buildings has continued in Syria and no matter how
much diplomacy is pushed forward, the damage to historic properties will not be reconstructed.
4.4 Syrian destruction of World heritage sites

4.4.1 Palmyra remains (Syrian World heritage site)
Before After
24
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12831987
31
UNESCO has the Palmyra remains25 listed as part of the World heritage sites. The site was
designated a Syrian national monument and was protected by the National Antiquities law 222 as
amended in 1999. A buffer zone was established in 2007 but has not yet been submitted to the World
Heritage Committee. Historically, Palmyra was an oasis in the Syrian Desert, north-east of
Damascus. Palmyra contained the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most
important cultural centres of the ancient world. From the 1st to the 2nd century, the art and
architecture of Palmyra, stood at the crossroads of several civilizations, married Graeco-Roman
techniques with local traditions and Persian influences.
The Syrian war destruction of the remains of the city stands as a reminder to the World that war has
far reaching impacts on legacies and civilisation articulation. Palmyra once exerted a decisive
influence on the evolution of neoclassical architecture and modern urbanization. The city offers the
consummate example of an ancient urbanized complex, for the most part protected, with its large
public monuments such as the Agora, the Theatre and the temples.
Alongside these, the inhabited quarters are preserved, and there are immense cemeteries outside the
fortified enceinte. Palmyran art, for which the great museums of the world now vie, united the forms
of Graeco-Roman art with indigenous elements and Iranian influences in a strongly original style.
As the crossroads of several civilizations, it is here that unique creations came into existence, notably
in the domain of funerary sculpture, until the civil war broke out.
4.4.2 The Umayyad Mosque (Damascus, Syria)

Before
25
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/23/gallery/
32
After
The Umayyad Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus (Arabic: ,
Romanization mi' Ban 'Umayya al-Kabr), located in the old city of Damascus, is one of the
largest and oldest mosques in the world. It was considered by some Muslims to be the fourth-holiest
place in Islam. Damascus was the capital of the Aramaean state Aram-Damascus during the Iron
Age. The Arameans of western Syria followed the cult of Hadad-Ramman, the god of thunderstorms
and rain, and erected a temple dedicated to him at the site of the present-day Umayyad Mosque. The
Umayyad Mosque is historically regarded as the earliest surviving stone mosque, built between ad
705 and 715 by the Umayyad Caliph al-Wald I. The mosque stood on the site of a 1st-century
Hellenic temple to Jupiter and of a later church of St. John the Baptist. Some Syrio-Roman fragments
remain in the structure, as does a shrine supposedly enclosing a relic honoured by Muslims as well
as Christians, the head of St. John the Baptist.
It is not known exactly how the temple looked, but it is believed to have followed the traditional
Semitic-Canaanite architectural form, resembling the Temple of Jerusalem. This historic site has
equally suffered the destructive effects of civil war in Syria and from a historian and Architectural
position, this destructive impact on war has drawn different emotions especially to historians,
Archaeologists, Architects and the Syrian government, not to mention UNESCO who place high
value on such historic structures.
The design of the Mosque was spectacular. The mosque occupied a huge quadrangle 515 by 330 feet
(157 by 100 m) and contained a large open courtyard surrounded by an arcade of arches supported
by slender columns. The liwan, or hall of worship, running the length of the south side of the mosque,
33
was divided into three long aisles by rows of columns and arches.
A transept26 with a central octagonal dome, originally wooden, cuts across the aisles at their
midpoint. The marble grilles that cover the windows in the south wall are the earliest example of
geometric interlace in Islmic architecture.
The walls of the mosque were once covered with more than an acre of mosaics depicting a fanciful
landscape thought to be the Qurnic paradise, but only fragments survive. The mosque was
destroyed by Timur in 1401, rebuilt by the Arabs, and damaged by fire in 1893. Although it could
not be restored to its original splendour, the mosque is still an impressive architectural monument
until the recent Syrian civil war that has again destroyed the Mosque again.
4.4.3 Aleppo's historic souk Market (Syria)
The market, Souk al-Madina, comprised a network of vaulted stone alleyways and carved wooden
facades and was once a tourist attraction and a busy cosmopolitan trading hub on the ancient Silk
Road from China. Its many narrow alleys have a combined length of 13km (eight miles). Large parts
of Aleppo's historic Souk al-Madina covered market were reduced to ashes as government forces
and rebels fought for control of the city. Shops in the UNESCO world heritage site caught fire during
clashes and the flames destroyed at least 1,500 shops, partly because many of the small retail units
tucked beneath the market's ancient arches were full of fabric merchandise being sold. Large parts
of Aleppos covered market, the largest of its kind in the world and a UNESCO world heritage site
26
The area of a cruciform church lying at right angles to the principal axis. The bay at which the transept intersects the
main body of the church is called the crossing. The transept itself is sometimes simply called the cross. The nave of a
church with a cruciform plan usually extends toward the west from the crossing, the choir and sanctuary toward the
east. The arms of the transept are then designated by direction, as north transept and south transept. They may have
aisles or not and are generally about the same width as the nave.
34
that traces its history back to the 14th century, was reduced to ashes as government forces and rebels
fought for control of the city.
Aleppos old city is one of several places UNESCO, the United Nations cultural agency, has
designated world heritage sites and which are now at risk. UNESCO, which recognised Aleppo's
historic souk Market as part and parcel of a world heritage site, described the destruction as a tragedy.
This condemnation has not held anyone responsible and the World heritage site is no longer available
to be displayed for the future generations to admire and be proud off. The souk's Market devastation
is a reminder of how the two years plus conflict, in which both sides are struggling to gain the upper
hand and activists estimate 30,000 people have been killed. On top of the deaths that have been
reported, the war is destroying Syria's rich cultural and historical legacy as well as the lives of its
22.5 million people. Beyond the dramatic human cost, many of Syria's historic treasures have also
fallen victim to two -year-old conflict that has reduced parts of some cities to ruins as the war rages
to unseat a president who has support from Iran and Russia.
4.5 Afghanistan treasures

4.5.1 The Buddhas of Banyan statues (Afghanistan)
Before After
The Buddhas of Bamiyan (Pashto: - "de bmiyn botn", Dari: but

hay-e bamiyan) were two 6th century monumental statues of standing buddha carved into the side
of a cliff in the Bamwam valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, 230 km (140 mi)
northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2,500 meters (8,202 ft). Built in 507 AD, (smaller), and 554 AD,
35
(larger) the statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. A Buddha of Bamiyan
statue stands over 150 feet high above a small town situated at the foot of the Hindu Kush mountains
of central Afghanistan, prior to its destruction27 2001. It all goes back to March 2001, when in
Bamiyan, central Afghanistan, the Taliban destroyed two giant Buddha statues, probably dating from
between the middle of the 6th and 7th centuries AD.
Greed, being one of the main reasons behind most reasons for war, the Talibans destruction of the
Buddhas of Bamiyan was no different. The destruction of this heritage, which was a crime against
culture shocked the world. Secretly, behind the two stone giants, a hidden treasure of a different kind
was uncovered: around 50 caves with walls decorated with religious frescoes28 that must have been
made between the 5th and 9th centuries AD. They drilled holes into the torsos of the two statues and
then placed dynamite charges inside the holes to blow them up."
The operation to wreck the statues carved into a cliff in the Bamiyan Valley in the Hindu Kush
Mountains of central Afghanistan was supervised by Mullah Obaidullah 29, the Taliban defense
minister. There was an international outcry since Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban leader, had
issued a special edict on Feb 26,2001 ordering the destruction of all non-Islamic statues.
These hidden paintings were suspected to have been painted by monks or travelers passing through
on the Silk Road, and they represented Buddhas, patterns and scenes related to Buddhist mythology.
To the scientists' surprise, some of them were oil paintings, a technique believed to have been born
between the 14th and the late 15th century in Flanders and Italy. This destruction of the Buddhas to
access the Frescos resulted in the destruction of the historical statues and can never be repaired to
the original status they were once persevered.
27
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYYBlPWYb7Y
28
Fresco (plural frescos or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid lime plaster. Water is
used as the vehicle for the pigment and, with the setting of the plaster, the painting becomes an integral part of the
wall. The word fresco (Italian: affresco) is derived from the Italian Adjective fresco meaning "fresh". Fresco may thus
be contrasted with secco mural painting techniques, on plasters of lime, earth, or gypsum, or applied to supplement
painting in fresco. The fresco technique has been employed since antiquity and is closely associated with Italian
Renaissance painting.
29
Mullah Obaidullah, the Akhund (Pashto: ( ) died March 5, 2010) was the Defence Minister under
the Taliban government in Afghanistan and later became an insurgent commander during the Taliban insurgency
against the new Afghan government and the US-led NATO forces. He was captured by Pakistani security forces in 2007
and died in 2010 of a heart disease inside a prison in Pakistan.
36
4.6 General defacing and destruction of Cityscapes by war and terrorism
4.6.1 Kenyan, Somalian and USA terror attacks.
Nairobi defacing Kenya Shopping mall destroyed
Nairobi shopping mall Nairobi US embassy (1998) Nairobi Shopping Mall bombed
Kenya shopping mall burning Nairobi car park destroyed Nairobi Street destroyed
Marks of war in Mogadishu, Somali Mogadishu Street after defacing by war
37
No Countries are exempt from the marks of war, terrorism and conflict around the globe. These
buildings are spread right around the continents and yet the impact is the same as the defacing of the
city scape affects the future of the buildings and design considerations. These structures are never
the same and UNESCO have found their work made complex by having to delist and re-list
structures on their official records of World heritage sites.
5.0 Architects and war Zone areas response
Architects are often the last people needed in disaster reconstruction. Most Architects focus on
buildings rather than people, and are usually of very little use in war Zones as they are not trained in
understanding the importance of reconstruction after disasters. As Architects are studying, they are
taught that the role of architects in these circumstances is marginal at best. In fact, most architects
are taught almost the exact opposite of what is needed. Architects are taught to focus on the product
(the building), whereas in contrast, humanitarian professional practitioners major on the processes
that involve the affected people. For architects, ownership of the reconstruction design still rests
with the Architect and fellow professionals in the building Industry without attending to the
beneficiaries who are supposed to be the estranged victims of war and Conflict. This misplaced
concentration by Architects is what has led to the profession becoming less consulted when
important reconstruction projects are organized as a response to global demands after disaster has
affected areas.
38
5.1 United Nations Office for the coordination of humanitarian (UN OCHA)
The United Nations Office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (UN OCHA) is the arm of
the United Nations Secretariat that is responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure
coherent response to emergencies. OCHA also ensures there is a framework within which each actor
can contribute to the overall response effort. OCHAs mission is to mobilize and coordinate effective
and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors in order to
alleviate human suffering in disasters and emergencies; advocate for the rights of people in need;
promote preparedness and prevention; and facilitate sustainable solutions.
When disaster strikes, either coming from War and conflict, natural disasters like Earthquakes,
hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding or famine, sustainable shelter becomes a key requirement. Architects
are supposed/expected to be in the forefront leading disaster response teams and it is regrettable that
when the first report from the UN on creating OCHA, Architects were not directly consulted on what
role they could play apart from being back office players.
Reconstruction design is not considered as a critical magnet for Architects and they are relegated to
incidental roles only. Whilst the UN consultation report involved different professions, there is no
single mention of the word Architect and it is a mega sign of how the profession has with time
remained static whilst other building and managerial professionals have innovated to be become
more responsive to the changing world of design and the built environment with the new response
strategies that address the human process.
Charlesworth, (2006) contends that Architects have a mono-dimensional physical-focus in their

mind when responding to disasters and she offers a new vision of architects and design professionals
to become mobile and collaborative agents outside traditional sites and constructed environments.
In doing so, she examined Architects role in the design and re-assemblage of urban environments
ravished by wars and social conflicts resulting in de facto divided cities.
Whilst Architectural practices have rushed to the Middle East war torn zones to grab as many design
commissions as possible, most see the region as an opening-business market rather than a
humanitarian opportunity to use their skills to assist the ravaged area. Very few see the humanitarian
39
niche and opportunity to promote the profession and its value to society and the community as a
whole. Medical doctors, Accountants, Engineers and humanitarian biased managers have made an
impact on the minds of the people as they have volunteered and provided the much needed solutions
to the communities. According to the 2012 WA100 survey 30, the worlds biggest practices are
turning to war-torn countries including Iraq and Libya to boost flagging workloads elsewhere. Bid-
on-line website31 has concentrated on the business opportunity aspect of the disaster areas than the
humanitarian needs that Architects can provide to the areas.
As many Architects have stood up against the elitist position that most Architectural practices
possess, the last decade has seen architecture undergo what is now a familiar renaissance, one
defined by a surge of innovative, pragmatic projects designed to solve the problems of the public,
perhaps even at the expense of design integrity. Architecture, like most creative fields, has
segmented along theoretical lines drawn by the war torn zones that scream for attention and attracted
debate for a higher purpose for the profession than originally intended. Notably, while aesthetics
have ebbed and transformed, each artistic shift has played out in the foreground of a much grander
tension, a theoretical fault line between the Architectural profession taking its place, driving the
debate, to the profession become obsolete and irrelevant. The need for Architects to provide
reconstruction professional guidance in places where disasters are caused more by poverty than
natural phenomena involves building back what can't be seen as much as what can. Architects need
to be sensitized in this public demand for their input if they are to be relevant in places where
disasters happen.
Arguments in the Architectural professional corridors may feel that to take this call on board is
intractable and is beyond their remit or training. If the profession is to remain relevant, and useful,
it is time to innovate and become part and parcel of the global changing environment and they cannot
remain sitting on their arms and ignore this noble call. Architects must evolve to address the radically
different circumstances for which they were trained and Architectural educational institutions
Worldwide must of necessity respond in kind.
30
http://www.bdonline.co.uk/5047969.article
31
http://www.bdonline.co.uk
40
5.2 Architectural institutions training of Architects
In recent years, there has been a great deal of attention paid to preparing the building professionals
to handle disasters, in particular terrorist events. Most of the attention has mostly focused on the first
responders and the initial emergency management team but must now include Architects and
building designers to be in the forefront. The impact of disasters is believed to be increasing
internationally, and Architects are more likely to be confronted with a need to provide innovative
responses to the required care for victims affected by disaster. The evidence-base of disaster
destruction of shelter internationally is well documented and accentuated by the various UN ad NGO
organizations that have been set up to provide shelter solutions.
It is not uncommon that the word Architecture conjures up all sorts of images in the minds of non-
architects: rolls of blueprints, soaring buildings, a life of glamour and fame. It is now even more
perplexing that even the most famous architects say the past and present realities of the profession
are markedly different. For one to become an architect requires grueling hours, a disproportionate
amount of education, years-long licensing hurdles, and finicky clients, while yielding relatively low
pay and career stability compared to other learned professions. According to Will Hunter Executive
director of The Architectural review, wrote in the financial times, A recent ranking of UK salaries
put us (Architects) in 51st place behind train drivers32. Whilst other professions have soared in
innovative participation in the way they respond to the public demands of their services, Architects
have continually been viewed as elitists and a profession reserved for the upper class. The tide has
to change if Architects cannot critic themselves.
More detrimentally for both the publics perception and opportunities within the field, architecture
remains a luxury available only to a privileged few. The field has long wrestled with its elitism;
books have been written, conferences staged, and museum exhibitions mounted around estimates
that architecture and good design are accessible to only a select sliver of the population. Yet
architecture shapes everyone by creating the environments around us, impacting our collective
quality of life. As philosopher Alain de Botton once wrote, Belief in the significance of architecture
32
https://www.facebook.com/ApexBusinessAndManagementConsultantsLtd/posts/671871339515509
41
is premised on the notion that we are, for better or worse, different people in different placesand
on the conviction that it is architectures task to render vivid to us who we might ideally be.
5.3 BIM and disaster management
Architectural institutions have in the last decade taken on Building information modelling (BIM)
modules as a way of addressing quick information sharing during a crisis time. A Building
Information Model is a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a building.
Construction and management of buildings involves many stake-holders, so that proper sharing of
information over the entire lifecycle of a building is very important. The Open Geospatial
Consortium (OGC) is developing BIM standards that promote efficient web-based information
sharing in the Architectural, Engineering, Construction and building Ownership and Operation
(AECOO) markets. This will help Architects to work in partnership with other building professionals
to respond speedily to disasters around the globe.
A Building Information Model (BIM) involves integration of CAD drawings, geospatial data and
other graphical and non-graphical data, and may represent the view of a building from any
practitioner perspective: architect, specification drafter, and engineer, fabricator, leasing agent,
lender and general contractor. As such, it serves as a shared source of information on a building,
forming a reliable basis for decision making during its lifecycle. This arrangement fits in perfectly
for Architects to be more aware of the innovative ways of information sharing and able to utilize the
shared information without being left behind. Educational institutions have started introducing
modules in this field to prepare the Architect for disaster management and this is seen as a welcome
advantage that lacked in the way Architects operated yesteryear. During disaster time, BIM
construction management modeling has its greatest impact in construction sequencing and
labor/resources utilization and estimation. This helps with rapid decision making when answers and
solutions are required promptly.
Conclusively, Architects being trained in the use of BIM construction management for disaster
design detailing and on-site fabrication is another asset of post-design efficiency whereby the
fragmented traditional process is streamlined and errors substantially reduced through 3D drawings
that can be easily visualized by sometimes lay builders on a disaster site. With separate architects
42
design drawings, structural engineer construction drawings, and humanitarian decision processes,
creating solution drawings, with material specifications, sizes, dimensions, as well as connection-
specific welding and bolting specifications, the possibility of error being introduced into the disaster
recovery process is high during disaster times and BIM comes in as a welcome enabler to ease the
problems.
5.5 Architects innovation a must
Architects need to start considering innovation if they are to remain relevant to the issue of designing
after disaster as the global situation will not be able to interact with the profession. Design and
Build construction companies seem to be preferred as they provide usually a one stop, one shop
solution to NGOs and government projects. The word innovation is on every senior executives lips,
its the critical difference between business success and failure in a fast moving, rapidly changing
world, and its one of the most important elements in creating wealth. Yet strangely, this critical
element of modern economics and Architectural advancement has been left in comatose with the
rapid shift of the global trends of design and business market reaction to war and conflict torn world
we live in. Innovation Architecture is the systematic discipline that integrates, configures,
transforms, and aligns diverse elements resulting in the creation, design, or building of new sources
of organizational growth or wealth. Innovation is a driving force for business change and Architects
must prepare for it and, preferably, lead the charge or be obsolete. The Architect must provide
coherent guidance to the reconstruction after disaster solutions through principles, standards and
models while also providing project enablement, engineering support and value delivery during
disaster time. While many Architects succeed in satisfying short-term needs, little time or incentive
remains to pursue impactful enterprise-wide innovation and the suggestion is that this now needs to
be a key requirement for Architects to remain relevant and valued.
43
6.0 Conclusion
Some of the world's most beautiful buildings have risen up, only to be destroyed or demolished just
a few years or decades later. For instance, The Crystal Palace, Hyde Park, London, designed by Sir
Joseph Paxton, built for the Great Exhibition of 1851, The
building was 1,851 ft (564 m) long and 128 ft (39 m) high and it
had 990,000 sq ft (92,000 sqm) of exhibition space, and the
largest amount of glass ever seen in a building, thanks to the
newly-invented (three years earlier) cast plate glass method. It
was relocated to Sydenham Hill in 1852, and stood there until
1936, when it was destroyed in a fire. Only two water towers
survived. The south one was taken down shortly after the fire, and the other one was demolished in
1941. This is the story that has become ever so common in todays world of instant microwave
designs and destruction of extremely important World heritage sites and structures. Civilization
legacy indicates that one day, we are going to become our own worst enemy in annihilating our own
history. UNESCO has indicated their commitment in preserving the Worlds most important designs
and sites that mark the history of mankind.
Unfortunately, the advent of unnecessary politically and greed motivated wars are threatening the
built environment and the very. The escalation of terrorism has threatened the very existence of our
communities and the legacy we are expected to leave for future generation. The use of bombs and
destruction of building structures has left mankind perplexed on what to do to remain relevant in the
legacy of this generation being preserved.
Periodically, understandably, society develops a cult of the modern, or even, paradoxically, a cult
of the past, and that is when some buildings of the previous generation are most at risk of being
regarded as ugly and superfluous and are culled in preference for a modern touch. In post-war
Britain, the rush to modernize towns and cities took its toll. Some iconic buildings may outlive their
usefulness, and in the eyes of the Architect and developer may insist that the structures have lost the
aesthetic and aspiration that created them and as such may be razed. In such instances, it takes
activism to preserve such structures but in most cases, the buildings are pulled down before word
gets around of the intentions of the planning authorities.
44
Destruction emanating from war and conflict is normally regrettable and we shall be judged by future
generations. Our responsibility is to maintain a structural preservation strategy so that we can be
proud of handing down valuable assets. The overwhelming message from this short paper is that we
do not know how much we will miss a building or heritage site until it is gone. It is a rather
melancholy pleasure to be reminded of what has disappeared, and in some cases to be told of
something I never knew existed.
The lesson in some of the cases mentioned in this discourse is that excellent buildings speak of their
age, and are in the greatest danger shortly after that age is past and they become in the collective
mind ugly and old fashioned. Given that mind-set, one might say that the miracle is what has
survived, rather than what has been lost. That is the reason why it is so important that we look at
preserving these structures and sites for future generations.
The 2nd World War was, probably, the biggest catastrophe of the mankind suffered by itself. This
devastation affected directly to artistic treasures of an uncountable value, some of them great Gothic
cathedrals and buildings. The current Middle East wars are quickly gaining on the 2 nd World war
levels of destruction as terrorists and regimes pummel each other relentlessly.
Ending armed conflict in the Middle East has long been a concern of Architects and building
designers and members of the international Community. Most disasters, regardless of their root
causes, result in a recovery process with recognizable phases. The period immediately following a
catastrophe is the most critical is known as:
(a) Emergency phase, strictly devoted to rescue, assessment, and critical repairs to the damaged
infrastructure; the second phase is
(b) Transitional, when residents return to somewhat normal patterns of work and social relations
while permanent repairs to public utilities are undertaken;
(c) The final phase involves reconstruction, during which the final reordering of the community
and its environment is conceived and accomplished.
At the same time, its important to take note that a single disaster may affect different
communities and different sectors of the same community in varied ways. Knowledge of pre-
45
disaster social conditions and civic support structures can allow Architects and humanitarian
agencies to predict and prepare for the consequences of disaster that occur outside their sphere
of influence. That is where Architects and innovation in the form of BIM and preparation come
into play as information is shared across different players.
UNESCO efforts must be taken seriously by governments, communities and Architects in

particular as the legacy of the built environment rests on the current generation and we have an
obligation to preserve the building structures and sites as World heritage treasures for future
generations. For a Country to have sites or buildings that have a World Heritage status is a
prestigious designation and can help create a sense of national and local pride. Inscription can
promote tourism, and increased focus on the conservation of a site and this should never be far
from the mind of any organizations or agencies that work in the conservation arena
Training and change of mindsets of Architects may become the way forward for disaster
management and Architectural response to war, conflict and when disaster strikes. Applying
BIM model and innovative approaches to responding during disasters or war times will propel
the Architectural profession back into contention after being relegated to the back of the pack.
46
7.0 References and Bibliography
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Call Charles T. (2005) Institutionalizing Peace: A Review of Post-Conflict Peacebuilding Concepts

and Issues for DPA. Review for UN Department of Political Affairs. New York: United Nations.
Collier, Paul, and Anke Hoeffler. (2004) Conflicts. In Global Crises, Global Solutions, edited byB.
Lomborg. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Collier, Paul. (2000) Doing Well Out of War. In Greed and Grievance: Economic Agendas in Civil
Wars, edited by M. Berdal, and D. M. Malone. Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner.
De Soto, A., and G. del Castillo. (1994) Obstacles to Peacebuilding. Foreign Policy 94: 6983.
Doyle, M. W., and Nicholas Sambanis. (2000) International Peacebuilding: A Theoretical and
Quantitative Analysis. American Political Science Review 94: 779902.
Doyle, M. W., and Nicholas Sambanis. (2006) Making War and Building Peace: United Nations
peace Operations. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press
EBRD (2008) Environmental and Social Policy. European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development, London, U.K.
EIB (2009) Statement of Environmental and Social Principles and Standards. European
Investment Bank, Luxembourg.
Esther Charlesworth (2006) Edited by N; Architects Without Frontiers: War, Reconstruction and
Design Responsibility Review by Camillo Boano, Oxford Brookes University - School of Built
Environment - Department of Planning Oxford - Published by Architectural Press, 224pp ISBN
978-0750668408
Hegre, H. (2004) The Duration and Termination of Civil War. Journal of Peace Research 41: 243
252.
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/20
http://buildingsmartalliance.org/pdfs/buildingsmart_alliance_charter.pdf
http://www.citygmlwiki.org/
http://www.buildingsmartalliance.org/nbims
http://iai-tech.org/products/ifc_specification/
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http://opengeospatial.org/standards/citygml/
http://www.mideastweb.org/nutshell.htm
IDB (2006) Environment and Safeguards Compliance Policy. Inter-American Development Bank,
Washington, DC, U.S.A.
IFC (2012) Performance Standard 6: Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Natural Resource
Management. International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, U.S.A.
Kanbur, Ravi. (2007) Poverty, Inequality and Conflict. Working Paper, March 2007. New York:
International Peace Academy.
Krasner, S. D. (2004) Shared Sovereignty: New Institutions for Collapsed and Failing States.
International Security
Mack, Andrew. (2005) Human Security Report 2005: War and Peace in the 21st Century. New York
and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mack, Andrew. (2007). Global Patterns of Political Violence. Working Paper, March 2007. New
York: International Peace Academy
McGraw-Hill Construction, (2007). Interoperability in the Construction Industry, SmartMarket

report. Design and Construction Intelligence. 2007 Interoperability Issue.
Pugh, M., N. Cooper, and J. Goodhand. (2004) War Economics in a Regional Context. Boulder,
CO:Lynne Rienner Publishers.
RJC. (2009) Responsible Jewellery Council Standards Guidance. The Responsible Jewellery
Council. London, U.K.
ROBERT PORTER LYNCH (2006) Creating a School of Thought ARCHITECTURE OF INNOVATION
Rotberg, R. (2003) When States Fail: Causes and Consequences. Princeton: Princeton University
Press.
RSB. (2009) Annex to the Guidelines for Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, Stakeholder
Mapping and Community Consultation Specific to the Biofuels Sector- Ecosystem and Conservation
Specialist. Version 1.0. Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Rubin, B.R., and A. Armstrong. (2003) Regional Issues in the Reconstruction of Afghanistan. World
Policy Journal 20(1): 3140.
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The full list of WHS, including the list of World Heritage in Danger are available on
the UNESCO World Heritage Centre official website
Tilly, C. (1975) The Formation of National States in Western Europe. Princeton: Princeton
University Press.
UNESCO (1972). Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural
Heritage. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris, France.
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Convention.
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SecurityCouncil. UN Doc. S PRST 2001 5.
Walter, B. F. (2004) Does Conflict Beget Conflict? Explaining Recurrent Civil War. Journal of peace
Research 41: 371388.
49

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Architecture and War Zones

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APEX BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS

The Role of Mangers

Architecture and War Zones

The destruction of Cities and the

Demise of World Heritage sites

Hector Chapa Sikazwe, 2014

4.4.3 Aleppo's historic souk Market (Syria) .................................................................................... 34

Identification, protection, conservation, presentation and transmission to future generations of

Activities must not negatively affect sites Outstanding Universal Value.

3.1 Afghanistan Conflict

3.2 Syrian conflict

The area Marked in RED is Wadi al-Jouz neighborhood

Sirte after Gaddafi.

The shelling of Misrata,

forces on their real motive for intervening.

3.4 Egyptian conflict

were destroyed as rioters set fire to a library in the Cairo's

3.5 Israeli and Palestinian conflict

over decades of wars and conflicts generated therefrom.

November 2nd, 1917

Dear Lord Rothschild,

Arthur James Balfour

4.0 UNESCO tears20

4.1 Bahrain mosque destruction

4.1.3 Amir Mohammed Braighi

4.1.4 Pearl Roundabout in Bahrain

4.2 USA-Twin towers destruction-New York Skyline changed forever

4.4 Syrian destruction of World heritage sites

4.4.2 The Umayyad Mosque (Damascus, Syria)

4.4.3 Aleppo's historic souk Market (Syria)

4.5 Afghanistan treasures

The Buddhas of Bamiyan (Pashto: - "de bmiyn botn", Dari: but

the original status they were once persevered.

Nairobi defacing Kenya Shopping mall destroyed

Marks of war in Mogadishu, Somali Mogadishu Street after defacing by war

5.0 Architects and war Zone areas response

Charlesworth, (2006) contends that Architects have a mono-dimensional physical-focus in their

5.3 BIM and disaster management

5.5 Architects innovation a must

UNESCO efforts must be taken seriously by governments, communities and Architects in

Call Charles T. (2005) Institutionalizing Peace: A Review of Post-Conflict Peacebuilding Concepts

McGraw-Hill Construction, (2007). Interoperability in the Construction Industry, SmartMarket

ROBERT PORTER LYNCH (2006) Creating a School of Thought ARCHITECTURE OF INNOVATION

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