Construction, Destruction, Reconstruction: Radical Hope, Where Are You?

Cultural heritage sites in several countries in the Arab Region have been weaponised to erase peoples’ histories and to re/construct narratives. Politicians have proposed profit-driven urban regeneration and neoliberal projects that have led to the destruction of peoples’ heritage as in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Destruction, often legitimised to ‘improve’ and ‘modernise’ cities, has led to the mass displacement of people and the loss of architectural identity. In the context of war, the destruction of cultural heritage has been used as a war tactic to perform power and communicate messages of dominance to local, regional and global audiences. This has been the case in countries such as Palestine, Libya, Iraq and Sudan where cultural heritage has become part of punishing communities and erasing their presence. In both ‘peace’ and war, and when the lines between them blur, we need to protect cultural heritage to celebrate the diversity of communities, and build a future that is free, just and inclusive to all. But how do we restore hope at the time of mass destruction?