A ROTTING roof leaks water down the walls which forms puddles on the floor and slowly destroys art and furnishings. The constant possibility of an electrical short circuit could cause a fire, which is made worse by the structural impediments that prevent timely escape. Asbestos curtains hang throughout the building and could affect the health of visitors. This is not some kind of abandoned factory, but the condition of the Church of the Nativity, located in the Palestinian town of Bethlehem in the West Bank.
The Church of the Nativity is one of the world's most important historical sites and markers of human civilization. It is revered for marking the birthplace of Jesus and was ordered built by Roman Emperor Constantine in A.D. 325, just twelve years after Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire. The Church was burnt down in 529 and then reconstructed by the Roman Emperor Justinian. Since then, it has survived countless natural disasters and invasions.
The condition of the Church of the Nativity is disgraceful. But what is more disgraceful is that the Church has been denied representation on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) World Heritage list - until now.
UNESCO ratified the World Heritage Convention in 1972 with the purpose of preserving cultural and natural sites across the globe. Its World Heritage Site listing includes significant cultural and natural sites located in member countries that must be preserved for future generations.
Sites benefit from UNESCO listing in numerous ways - increased awareness, tourism, donor funds for preservation, access to money from the World Heritage Fund and the enactment of a preservation and management plan that also provides expert assistance to local preservation workers on the ground. Without a doubt, World Heritage Sites have a much better chance of surviving the tests of time.
Until this past Monday, however, Palestine was not recognized as a voting member of UNESCO. Earlier this year, UNESCO denied the Palestinian application to include the Church of the Nativity on the World Heritage listing because the organization did not recognize Palestine as a state - and only UNESCO-recognized states can nominate sites.
Yet it is not just the Church of the Nativity that has suffered from the exclusion of Palestine from UNESCO. Numerous other important sites located in the occupied Palestinian territories have suffered as well. Much of the Dead Sea, the famous salt-water sea located in the West Bank, is deteriorating. Sewage is being dumped in the sea, and the Jordan River, which provides the Dead Sea with water, is being diverted for irrigation. Entire sections of the sea are drying up and being converted for industrial use.
The ancient city of Hebron, a site of immense religious significance to both Jews and Muslims, has also been denied UNESCO representation, along with the entire town of Bethlehem. All of these sites would benefit hugely from inclusion on UNESCO's listing, and the Palestinians are submitting all of them, among other sites of significance, for recognition by UNESCO.
In the wake of the UNESCO vote to recognize Palestine as a member state, the United States has announced it will cut funding to UNESCO. Financial devastation for the organization could follow, considering the United States provides it with more than $80 million a year or about 22 percent of its budget. This decision will impact the well-being of other sites listed on UNESCO's World Heritage listing - hitting as close to home as our own University, which is among the sites listed.
It will also harm UNESCO's countless global humanitarian programs that battle AIDS, illiteracy, gender inequality and other medical and social ailments. The United States' decision is disgraceful. An organization like UNESCO that works to protect the cultural and historical integrity of all societies across the globe is not the place to fight political battles. It is not the place to play politics.
Now that Palestine is recognized as a member state by UNESCO, Palestinians have the opportunity to protect and preserve sites of historical and natural heritage in their territory and to vote on international discussions of social significance. Every society across the globe deserves recognition and acknowledgement of its cultural and natural treasures. Every society deserves to preserve its history and its heritage. There is nothing more repulsive, more sickening, than denying a people its heritage. UNESCO is about protecting the dignity of all cultures, of all histories; thus, Palestine's admittance is about protecting the cultural and historical dignity of the Palestinians.
The United States' decision puts UNESCO, as well as cultural and natural treasures across the globe, in jeopardy. It puts the Church of the Nativity, the Dead Sea and the ancient cities of Hebron and Bethlehem in jeopardy. In fact, it puts humanity in jeopardy. When we start determining which cultures and histories deserve acknowledgement for political reasons, the diversity, beauty and history of the world will be erased. And that can never be undone.
Jamie Dailey's column appears biweekly on Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at j.dailey@cavalierdaily.com.
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