DEARBORN —Henry Ford Community College (HFCC) Art History Professor Dr. Hashim Al-Tawil will be traveling to Sweden from March 6-9, where he will be giving a series of lectures and presentations at two different venues; The Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm and at the University of Uppsala, where he was invited to share his expertise regarding Iraq’s cultural and political conditions 10 years after the U.S. invasion.

Dr. Al-Tawil, who is chair of the art history area study at HFCC, will be presenting and discussing two key points; the first will be focusing on the looting of Iraq’s antiques, which have been eluted and smuggled during and after the U.S. invasion. The second point will focus on the consequences and impact of the deterioration of life conditions in Iraq since the eighties, but more specifically after the invasion in 2003.

Many of the Iraq’s archeological sites and museums with rich materials and artifacts were looted, and destroyed; historical artifacts, antiquity pieces, and artworks were smuggled during the course of the invasion and the immediate years that followed. According to Dr. Al-Tawil, thousands of professional Iraqis, scholars, and academicians in all fields were displaced, assassinated, or scared away and sought refuge in neighboring countries, Europe and North America, which left the country void of these professionals. Currently there are too many less qualified, untrained, and under educated individuals who filled that vacuum and are now in charge of Iraq’s major cultural and educational institutions. This in turn has negatively affected the different aspects of life in Iraq especially in the field of education, culture, health service and other public services.

Retrieved museum pieces that were initially lost during the U.S. invasion.

“When a country loses knowledgeable and well educated scientists, scholars, professors and well trained archaeologists, inadequate and opportunist individuals jump in to fill their spots illegitimately. Beside the severe deterioration in the quality of the service there is the probability of further compromising Iraq’s culture. Thousands of these displaced Iraqi professionals are in the Diasporas with no opportunity to serve their country and there is no indications from the Iraqi authorities to utilize their expertise and knowledge in rebuilding Iraq,” Dr. Al-Tawil said.

The higher education system in particular has been a problem in the country since the early ninties, when the war with Iran presented a major obstacle for any improvements. That was followed by 11 years of sanctions, putting education to a halt. The U.S. invasion that followed all the more contributed to the collapse of quality education in the country.

The political climate also continues to deteriorate as well. Dr. Al-Tawpi says there is no longer a binding national accord among the Iraqi people, but instead the loyalty is for the sect, the party, and sectarianism, and the quota seems to be the new national accord. Party loyalties and affiliations have caused the country to a speedy division in three territories. The Kurds, the Shi`as, and the Sunnis. The materialization of the three mini states in Iraq- that old political blueprint seems to be developing rapidly since 2003.

Despite President Obama officially announcing the end of the war and sending U.S. troops back home in early 2012, the American presence in Iraq is still a fact. The largest American Embassy in the world is currently located in Baghdad.  Dr. Al-Tawil points out that the only people who seemed to have benefited from the U.S. invasion are the big corporations who are making money off of Iraq’s oil.

“All Iraqis are losers in this situation, whether they are the Shi`as, Sunnis or Kurds. The Iraqi people were used and manipulated for the benefit and interest of those who planned the invasion. The invasion of Iraq did not only destroyed Iraq’s infrastructure and economy but it also impacted the economy of the United States too. A tremendous cost that American tax payers have to take on,” Dr. Al-Tawil said.

Dr. Al-Tawil believes there is a long road ahead before the country’s conditions start improving. He says a good start would be for the U.S. and its allies to admit their mistakes and provide the country with more resources so that they would be able to solve internal issues on their own. Education, health, public services, transportation and communication all need an overhaul.

“When it comes to antiquities and cultural loss, there is nothing wrong with admitting a mistake. President George W. Bush and his administration failed to protect Iraq’s culture. They have to admit and compensate Iraq with services and training that would lend them scientific and educational knowledge. There is some of that happening now but on a small scale.” Dr. Al-Tawil said. “It amazes me that after 10 years of very profitable production of oil, we still don’t see any infrastructure being restored in Iraq. There are tons of daily merchandises, food product, electronics, and all kind of needs being poured in the Iraqi market but nothing is being produced in Iraq. Iraqi people became more of consumers than producers. The wealth of Iraq oil is not serving the people, or the country’s basic needs, but serving the interest of foreign powers, big corporations, and their agents in Iraq.”

Dr. Al-Tawil’s presentation in Sweden is expected to be well received, as Europeans seem to be more aware of the conditions of Iraq that have resulted directly from the U.S. invasion. While knowledge on the situation seems to be growing, the perception in the U.S. media still seems to be biased. 

“The media in the U.S. tried to sugar coat the destruction of the Iraqi culture, but the media in Europe in most cases look deep into the details of what actually happened. It’s very difficult here in the U.S. to blame the American authorities for not being careful in preserving the Iraqi heritage,” Dr. Al-Tawil said.