http://dablog.ulcc.ac.uk/2010/06/01/iraqi-visit-to-ulcc/
Safely home in Firdos Square, Baghdad.
Our last Digital Preservation Training Programme (DPTP) was attended by many people from the UK and abroad. Thanks to the British Institute for the Study of Iraq and the British Council in Iraq among the attendees were two colleagues from the Iraq National Library and Archives in Baghdad (INLA). The INLA was destroyed during and post the 2003 invasion and conflict in Iraq.
In April of 2003, the National Library and Archives (Dar al-Kutub wa al-Watha’Iq) of Iraq, which was located directly across from the Ministry of Defense, was burned and looted. The burning and looting appeared to have taken place on two occasions: April 10 and April 12-13. These fires were set professionally with accelerants. A report was later given by Saad Eskander, the director–general of the National Library and Archive, regarding the destruction. He noted that three days before the invasion, library staff were told to destroy all archival material related to the Ba’athist rule. Eskander also reported that the destruction was performed by “a mix of poor people looking for a quick profit, along with regime loyalists intent on destroying evidence of atrocities”.
In total, an estimated 60 percent of its total archival materials, 25 percent of its books, newspapers, rare books, and most of its historical photographs and maps were destroyed.
Before the destruction, the library and archives were reported to have held 417,000 books, 2,618 periodicals dating from the late Ottoman era to modern times, and a collection of 4,412 rare books and manuscripts. According to Eskander, Saddam loyalists burned the entirety of the Republican Archive, which contained the records of the Ba’athist regime between the years 1958 and 1979. Also completely destroyed were the Ba’athist court proceedings detailing the charges against and trials of party opponents. Records of Iraq’s relations with its neighbors, including Iran, Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, are missing. Iraq has accused neighbouring countries of stealing sections of its national archives. In addition to these documents, which would have been of great interest to Iraqi citizens as well as to historians, the INLA lost records and documents from the Ottoman reign, the British occupation, the monarchical era, and much more. The destruction or loss of these materials, according to Eskander, did not occur only during the April 2003 attacks.
Saad Eskander, director of the library and archives since 2003, kept a diary through the British Library’s website, with entries starting in November 2006. His entries document the events covering the library and archive’s restoration. By 2007, the center “had already become a safe haven for intellectual activity, fully accessible to the public, with a state-of-the-art computer center”. In addition, there is also a facility for transferring documents to microfilm, a cataloging operation, and a department that locates documents from Iraqi government ministries. Having been a major player in the history of Iraq, the British Library was able to help the reconstruction, by providing microfilm copies of rare books and microfiche copies of documents relating to the administration of Iraq from 1914 to 1921 that were held by the British in India. Despite the fact that five staff members have been killed, along with the library closing for days at a time due to heavy fighting, Eskander says he sees the institution as “an important source of uniting and unifying the country.”
Having been a major player in the history of Iraq, the British Library was able to help the reconstruction, by providing microfilm copies of rare books and microfiche copies of documents relating to the administration of Iraq from 1914 to 1921 that were held by the British in India. Despite the fact that five staff members have been killed, along with the library closing for days at a time due to heavy fighting, Eskander says he sees the institution as “an important source of uniting and unifying the country.” The British Library is also digitizing important collections for the INLA. As a result, at CILIP’s award ceremony in his honour, Dr Eskander articulated the need for training in relation to digital preservation and to ensure good management of these and other digital resources. The Digital Preservation Training Programme offered to find funding to enable some colleagues from the INLA to attend.
Waleed Al-Naqshabandi and Zahraa Al Lami both work in the INLA. Waleed’s father is a government scultor who made the iconic sculpture which was pulled down on the 9th of April 2003. His father still works as sculptor for the present government. waleed is a senior IT specialists at the INLA and came to the DPTP to learn more about the preservation of the many digital copies of documents which the INLA is gathering from aroudn the world to replenish its holdings. Both spent time at the British Library being shown various projects relating to digital preservation. Waleed and Zahraa were very keen to emphasise their Iraq identity regardless of religion. Both have suffered during the post invasion aftermath. Waleed carried his old era Iraqi passport everywhere with him as a reminder of how bad things were under Sadaam Hussein’s regime.
I felt very humbled hearing about Waleed and Zahraa’s life in Baghdad. While we all hear about how dangerous life can be in Baghdad, it was plain to see how much they both love their city and their country. I learned a lot, not just about life in Baghdad but how to get visas fastracked from Jordan to Baghdad, the kindness of the British Council’s Iraq based team but also where to get some fine Iraqi food in London and of course I learnt some Arabic!
Both have been letting me know how they are proceeding at the INLA since their return and I hope to maintain my connection with the INLA and continue this programme.
Zahraa, a very good student!
Waleed hard at work at the DPTP
