Chinese company schedules destruction of ancient Buddhist city in Afghanistan (PLEASE read)

[cali]

Last edited Fri Sep 28, 2012, 03:36 AM - Edit history (1)

<snip>

This site is called Mes Aynak and is nothing short of awe-inspiring: a massive walled-in Buddhist city featuring massive temples, monasteries, and thousands of Buddhist statues that managed to survive looters and the Taliban. Holding a key position on the Silk Road, Mes Aynak was also an international hub for traders and pilgrims from all over Asia.

Hundreds of fragile manuscripts detailing daily life at the site are still yet to be excavated. Beneath the Buddhist dwellings is an even older yet-unearthed Bronze age site indicated by several recent archaeological findings.

Mes Aynak is set for destruction at the end of December 2012. All of the temples, monasteries, statues as well as the Bronze age material will all be destroyed by a Chinese government-owned company called China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC). Six villages and the mountain range will also be destroyed to create a massive open-pit style copper mine.

In 2007, MCC outbid competitors with a $3 billion bid to lease the area for 30 years. MCC plans to extract over $100 billion worth of copper located directly beneath the Buddhist site. Ironically, the Buddhists were also mining for copper albeit in a more primitive fashion.

<snip>

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/22/opinion/afghanistan-buddha-site-mine/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

[orpupilofnature57]

2. First identifying Shrub once again as

maybe the biggest misanthrope since Mesopotamia. You absolutely right about the Ancient civilizations LOST because of War & $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[M_M]

54. Don't forget the Dick!

[orpupilofnature57]

61. Oh no, your right heartless Dick

ran the show, Shrub just worried about where people were supposed to stand for pictures. Dick is one of the most misanthropic public officials we've ever had.

[littlemissmartypants]

76. I don't know if you meant don't forget the "kick" or

is this a Cheney reference? ...sometimes I am not so smart... Good pun! Please visit change.org and sign the petition. Thank you. http://www.change.org/petitions/president-hamid-karzai-prevent-destruction-of-ancient-site-of-mes-aynak-the-environmental-damage-3

[cali]

3. I don't know. I'll start by contacting my Senators and Rep

Starting an online petition? Contacting the State Dept?

[cali]

4. wiki article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mes_Aynak

[cali]

5. I'm going to keep this kicked

amazing photos of this cultural treasure:

http://www.livescience.com/20748-mes-aynak-ancient-buddhist-monastery.html

[geckosfeet]

21. thanks for the link, yes please do keep it kicked

[cali]

6. Please consider signing the petition to save Mes Aynak

No, it probably won't do any good, but voices in opposition to the destruction of this cultural treasure and to the environmental catastrophe in the making should be heard:

http://www.change.org/petitions/president-hamid-karzai-prevent-destruction-of-ancient-site-of-mes-aynak-the-environmental-damage-3

[littlemissmartypants]

8. Done

[cali]

13. thanks, lmsp.

I appreciate your posting in this thread.

[orpupilofnature57]

11. Done, Thanks for posting this

[cali]

24. that's great. let's aim to be up by 100

by the 5:00 pm eastern!

[blaze]

17. Done. nt

[davidpdx]

19. Done

I am also dismayed, but not surprised by this. The Chinese repress religious beliefs, bully the Dali Lama, and support despot dictators.

[Vidar]

25. done

[UnseenUndergrad]

33. Done.

[littlemissmartypants]

103. Welcome to the DU!

.

[ceile]

34. Done.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

[redqueen]

39. done

And thanks

[PowerToThePeople]

40. Done. n/t

[redgreenandblue]

45. Done.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

108. Done

[littlemissmartypants]

7. Posted in Science...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/122810717

[aquart]

79. I can't read a word you say because I'm assaulted by your animated gif.

What's your goal here? Clarification or pointless distraction?

[littlemissmartypants]

80. Sorry... Read this instead...

"Ancient site needs saving not destroying" to quote the CNN article.

http://www.change.org/petitions/president-hamid-karzai-prevent-destruction-of-ancient-site-of-mes-aynak-the-environmental-damage-3

I don't just want to keep this kicked I want to save the relics and the city because that is what it is...an ancient city named after Ezra, believed to be a scholar and scribe. It is a complex and intricate issue as the history of this site is long and complex combing relics from many different religions and having been inhabited by diverse factions from Hebrew-Aramaic Jews to Christians to the Taliban to the Buddhists to now a Chinese Mining company.

Maybe the fact that it was used as a training site for the 9/11 attack is why some want to leave it alone or maybe that is what makes them want to blow it up. Either way it also sits on the site of the aquifer that supplies water to 3 million people, many that are innocent victims with no understanding of what is going on. Please help me. Please ask others you know to help. All we need to do is focus on getting others to sign the petition at change.org. I deeply thank you.

[Franker65]

10. Afghans have to stop this

I wonder if they'd make more money turning this into a tourist destination rather than a copper mind whenever the country gets back to some kind of stability. The Afghans have to stop this from happening.

[orpupilofnature57]

12. China Metallurgical Group Corporation ( MCC )

fOLLOW THE $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[littlemissmartypants]

69. News Coverage in Persian

the only word of which I know is my first name.

&feature=player_embedded#!

[orpupilofnature57]

72. I don't speak Persian, but I get the picture. Thank you

Why doesn't American MSM have a fu-king thing !

[RandiFan1290]

14. Nice to know our troops are keeping the Chinese miners safe. nt

[Donowitz]

30. Believe it or not, this isn't far from the truth

The Chinese lobby in America had a huge hand in arguing for Bush to go to war in Afghanistan.

In return they promised kickbacks to American companies, i.e. that they'd sell rare-earths to American corporations at a discount.

China and Wall Street are very close these days. Moreover the Chinese are closing in on the American media and banks no thanks to the Republicans who all made billions off of crooked back-room deals with Beijing.

[fasttense]

16. MCC is a communist Chinese government owned corporation

The Chinese government owns, directs and controls this monopolistic corporation. It is the only corporations allowed to make paper in China. It has a monopoly on paper in China and probably a few other monopolies too since the communist party owns it. They are very anti-environment and have been taken to court in other countries for their disregard for the environment.

Though I doubt any petition will make a difference to it's business plans, if word is spread about destroying ancient artifacts, perhaps someone with a more level head will intervene before those artifacts are destroyed.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought the worse aspects of capitalism could fit in so well with a communist government.

[FrodosPet]

58. State owned corporation doing something greedy?

What could possibly be wrong with giving an entity an economic monopoly backed by the power of the state?

State owned entities are supposed to be true and pure in motivation - looking out for the planet first and the citizenry complete second. Completely transparent, environmentally responsible, free from greed and exploitation.



It amazes me how people think a monopoly backed by the state's ability to confiscate and incarcerate is any better than one in "private" hands.

[WinkyDink]

18. "MCC plans to extract over $100 billion worth of copper...." Nothing will deter this company/China.

[4dsc]

20. Dirty Chinese

I've said it before and I'll keep saying about the Chinese. They don't give a shit about anyone or anything but themselves. They will openly pollute the world around them and could care less about nature.

[RandiFan1290]

22. That is why the republicons envy them. nt

[lunasun]

28. To be rich is glorious or what ever they say there

Repugs are jealous they are such fast learners And highest bidders now

Afghans took the bid - why blame Chinese? they were competing with other corps justhad the highest bid
sounds like somebody was going to do it there

However US is not one to talk,
IMO
Sacred Native grounds and lakes stripped and now the oil locked in shale in NW is just examples within our own country
no respect for Native religion or rights if money is seen in them hills

Money talks so culture has to walk in Afghanistan

Who is propping up their corrupt government is one question

[magical thyme]

67. and this differs from mountaintop removal in W. Virginia how? nt

[JackRiddler]

94. Are there ancient Buddhist cities on top of Appalachian mountains?

What's your point? MTR bad, mining with additional destruction of ancient city bad.

[littlemissmartypants]

110. USGS Gold Map

[littlemissmartypants]

111. USGS Gold/Copper Map

[MichaelMcGuire]

116. U.S Geological Survey.

Do you have a link to this source. I wonder then its dated from, as USGS can affect policy.











BTW Hope your successful in protecting the historical site.

[sybster1000]

23. I traveled in China for a month...eyeopening..

The air is unbelievably polluted, the water is polluted, EVERYTHING is for sale, things that should be in museums. No, they won't care about Buddhist relics, they tore own most of their own. Do you want to see unfettered capitalism...go to China..they are turning their nothern parts into a desert and the air is unbreathable.

[jsr]

27. No kidding

I didn't see a lake or river that wasn't green or gray with pollutants. And the air was acrid.

[Donowitz]

29. I've also been to China

It's an absolute 4th world mess. That's all I can say.

[white_wolf]

32. China is rather interesting in this way.

It's like the entire industrial revolution squeezed into 80 or so years. Russia went through something similar, but they seem to have managed the pollution better, for the most part anyway.

[Taverner]

36. Just ask the folks in Priypat, Ukraine how well the Soviets managed their pollution

[Gregorian]

31. "Special" doesn't mean anything any more. I hate this.

There is so much that I consider "special". Owls, skies without contrails, all of the cultural accomplishments that humans have created.

Why do some people just think it's all bland and worthy of being crushed. Horrible people.

[orpupilofnature57]

62. The Dominion theocracy

[loli phabay]

70. one mans skies without contrails is another mans four day car ride ;)

Theres a price to pay for everything.

[Taverner]

35. Can't they just move it???

Sure, this is not ideal, but it's better than destruction

[cali]

37. No. They cannot possibly move it.

Delicate archaeological sites don't work like that. And how in hell could you do that in three months?

[Taverner]

38. I dunno - hire David Blaine??

IN all seriousness, there has to be some way

[Xithras]

51. The primary site covers 100 acres, and the entire site is over 10,000 acres

This was once a major city with many monastaries, a military fortress, a commercial city, and residences spread out over a vast area. While there is no way to preserve the outlying areas, the central city is comparable to Pompeii in size and scale, and the fight is to preserve at least that 100 acre central zone. As of now, the entire thing is facing bulldozers.

How do you move Pompeii? Especially considering that 95% of the city is still buried and unexplored? Most of this will be blown up before archaeologists ever get a chance to look at it.

[cali]

41. kick. please sign the petition.

[PufPuf23]

42. kr nt

[redqueen]

43. Kick

[littlemissmartypants]

44. We are up 156 on the petition at change.org

Please go to the site if you have not already and sign the petition. Thank you.

http://www.change.org/petitions/president-hamid-karzai-prevent-destruction-of-ancient-site-of-mes-aynak-the-environmental-damage-3

[Smilo]

82. Thank you for the link

signed.


K&R

[redgreenandblue]

46. The irony is painful. Taliban destroy ancient Buddha statues for Allah.

Capitalists destroy entire ancient villages for cash. Each in service of their respective gods...

[cali]

47. it is painful.

This is even worse. sadly. The environmental consequences of this are dire.

[redgreenandblue]

48. For what it's worth, I've shared your petition link on facebook.

Maybe it will bring some signatures.

[cali]

49. that's great. thank you so very much.

[redgreenandblue]

50. I have now written emails about this to three large German newspapers.

With some luck this will generate some international coverage.

[cali]

52. You are wonderful.

I find this so painful, this wanton destruction. It's a huge loss to the world.

[redgreenandblue]

63. Update:

I have written two more emails. One of them to the boulevard newspaper BILD, which I hated doing because they are a disgusting paper but also the most widely read paper in Germany.

DER SPIEGEL has answered my email and said that my suggestion has been received forwarded to the appropriate people. That may not mean much but we will see.

If this doesn't set off some coverage I will write to some politicians.

If we could get some people with other language skills to write to papers in more countries that would be cool (I'm sure a lot of people know French and Spanish on DU).

And: You make me blush. It probably won't be long until I post something dumb again

[cali]

64. It would be so great if DS ran a story

and we all post dumb things from time to time.

Thanks for doing all this.

[littlemissmartypants]

53. .

[littlemissmartypants]

81. Actually they preserved it for a while and it was a training site for 9/11 under

you know who that our outstanding President Barack Obama helped us destroy, to use your word. The city has been preserved and inhabited by many difference people of many religions...and in three months it will be blow up and bull dozed... please sign at: http://www.change.org/petitions/president-hamid-karzai-prevent-destruction-of-ancient-site-of-mes-aynak-the-environmental-damage-3

[littlemissmartypants]

55. UPDATE: Chinese schedule destruction of ancient Buddhist city... TIME SENSITIVE PLEASE READ...

The Signatures Are Up but... WE NEED MORE

Cali started this post and I became involved two days ago and the petition has 379 more signatures since we started. Because that is a rate of 5.7272727 signatures an hour. (I think. Is is kind of late and I am doing math with my eyes closed.) I believe this rate is because of DUers being DOers (In the words of the wise Mr. Scorpio) but this cause continues to be a grave and going concern. Thank you to all of you that have signed the petition!

There are roughly 2,280 hours before the mining company starts to blow these relics sky high, expands the copper mining scheme and risks the contamination of the aquifer located here. At a rate of 5.73 signatures per hour with 2,280 hours will give us just over 13 thousand more signatures (if we do not calculate exponentially.) A grand total of 50,000 is needed.

The water, the people, the earth, the relics and the opportunity that we and our progeny may someday be able to say someone I know helped to save this important place for the world. Please go and sign the petition if you have not already and ask all you can to do the same.

I believe we can make this happen. I can see these beautiful things in my minds eye. I would really like to enjoy them up close and personal and have the people that call this place their home continue to have them too. Thank you.

http://www.change.org/petitions/president-hamid-karzai-prevent-destruction-of-ancient-site-of-mes-aynak-the-environmental-damage-3

Experts call this one of the premier archaeological treasures in Asia. When mining begins in 2013, this unique heritage site will be destroyed forever. Currently a small team of salvage archaeologists is rushing to save whatever can be removed from the location.
The copper deposit also sits atop the aquifer that supplies water to the surrounding agricultural province and to Kabul, a city with an estimated 3 million inhabitants. Copper mining is hazardous and there is a real threat of a catastrophic environmental disaster if the proper methods of mining are not applied.
So far, NO environmental impact plan and NO mining plan has been made public. There has been NO discussion of variable mining technologies that might allow for portions of the site to be saved. Local residents and the Afghan population have NOT been informed of the costs and significant risks of this endeavor. An atmosphere of secrecy prevails and destruction is scheduled to begin the end of this December.

[FrodosPet]

56. Getting clean energy is a dirty job

The world is going to need a HUGE amount of copper, aluminum, and iron ore if we want to cut down the production of greenhouse gases while ending hunger and poverty. Think of the wind turbines - they need copper and rare earth magnets for the generator. Solar needs copper to connect the cells and steel or aluminum structures to physically mount them on. Efficient batteries require lithium, and then there are the lines and towers to carry the power from where it is generated to where it is needed.

But there has to be better places to get them from than this, and better ways than strip mining to get it.

[littlemissmartypants]

57. Welcome to the DU

Did you sign the petition?

[FrodosPet]

59. Not yet

I am still upset about the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan years ago, so this troubles me. I am considering signing, probably will, and will find other venues to bring awareness, but alas, I don't see it receiving much more than an "Isn't that cute?" from any of the moneyed players.

I hope that I am wrong, that this desecration of ancient history, and poisoning of modern people, is stopped. But at this point in time, while ounce for ounce copper may not be more expensive than gold, as a commodity, it is more useful and necessary.

[littlemissmartypants]

60. Man

are you ok? ... Go sign the damn petition and get over it. Good grief Charlie Brown.... A friend of mine who happens to be a physician found out recently he has cancer. I was reading the sweety pie crap people were writing on his facebook page and this is what I said to him and I am saying it to you:

Come on People, get out of that silver canoe on the serene lake and jump on your Pamlico pony ... sometimes it is the thunder and lightning that make us appreciate the rainbows but sometimes we just have to ride with abandon through the rain. "Now remember when things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb mad dog mean. 'Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That's just the way it is." from the movie, "The Outlaw Josey Wales" with Clint Eastwood holds that "aspire to the truth" meaning for me. I know he is a fictional character but there is some truth to aspire to here and the ability to grab your internal fortitude with courage can bring peace. Thank you for inspiring these thoughts.

Did you even read the whole thread? I just read yours. GO SIGN THE PETITION! This is the Democratic Underground. Look around a while. Try not to whine. Ask some compelling questions. But don't expect to attract flies without some honey.

[littlemissmartypants]

65. Mes Aynak

[littlemissmartypants]

68. Mes Aynak

MES AYNAK, Afghanistan — It was another day on the rocky hillside, as archaeologists and laborers dug out statues of Buddha and excavated a sprawling 2,600-year-old Buddhist monastery. A Chinese woman in slacks, carrying an umbrella against the Afghan sun, politely inquired about their progress.

She had more than a passing interest. The woman represents a Chinese company eager to develop the world's second-biggest unexploited copper mine, lying beneath the ruins.

The mine is the centerpiece of China's drive to invest in Afghanistan, a country trying to get its economy off the ground while still mired in war. Beijing's $3.5 billion stake in the mine – the largest foreign investment in Afghanistan by far – gets its foot in the door for future deals to exploit Afghanistan's largely untapped mineral wealth, including iron, gold and cobalt. The Afghan government stands to reap a potential $1.2 billion a year in revenues from the mine, as well as the creation of much-needed jobs.

...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/14/chinese-copper-mine-afghanistan-mes-aynak-_n_783315.html

[littlemissmartypants]

66. 48,265

signatures are still needed. Please click the link and sign the petition. Thank you. http://www.change.org/petitions/president-hamid-karzai-prevent-destruction-of-ancient-site-of-mes-aynak-the-environmental-damage-3

[Prometheus Bound]

71. What's with the headline?

It's a Chinese company, not all Chinese.

Why not use the original headline? Seems unnecessarily inflammatory to change it in this way.

[littlemissmartypants]

73. Please send an IM to cali

for that is who started the thread. I will also do so. It is a very complex and sensitive issue. The history and the occupation of the site is long and intricate. Please help by signing the petition and sharing its plight with others. Thank you.

[littlemissmartypants]

75. Here is the content of the IM I sent to cali

but I don't think she is logged in right now...

There has been a complaint about our thread at http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021405116 and I say our because I have made this a mission. Please join me first by changing the title of the thread post because some think it maybe in violation of TOS and having the thread locked by a jury would be because the title needs to read:
"Ancient site needs saving not destroying" to quote the CNN article.

I don't just want to keep this kicked I want to save the relics and the city because that is what it is...an ancient city named after Ezra, believed to be a scholar and scribe. It is a complex and intricate issue as the history of this site is long and complex combing relics from many different religions and having been inhabited by diverse factions from Hebrew-Aramaic Jews to Christians to the Taliban to the Buddhists to now a Chinese Mining company.

Maybe the fact that it was used as a training site for the 9/11 attack is why some want to leave it alone or maybe that is what makes them want to blow it up. Either way it also sits on the site of the aquifer that supplies water to 3 million people, many that are innocent victims with no understanding of what is going on. Please help me. Please ask others you know to help. All we need to do is focus on getting others to sign the petition at change.org. I deeply thank you. By the way thanks for opening a can of worms on my plate. (joking) LMSP

[Prometheus Bound]

83. I have no interest in the thead being locked.

I agree it is an important thread. Just wanted to point out that the omission of 'company' in the title changed the meaning, probably in a way the poster did not intend.

[cali]

84. I don't have to use the original headline here in GD.

I often don't. It wasn't intended to do anything but draw attention to this impending catastrophe.

And the article makes it quite clear that the company is Chinese:

"Mes Aynak is set for destruction at the end of December 2012. All of the temples, monasteries, statues as well as the Bronze age material will all be destroyed by a Chinese government-owned company called China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC). Six villages and the mountain range will also be destroyed to create a massive open-pit style copper mine."

[Prometheus Bound]

85. I didn't say you had do. I merely asked why you changed it to all Chinese instead of one company.

Not one other mention of this story that I was able to find on Google news mislabeled the story like this.

It's important because most readers read only the headline.

[cali]

86. Oh for fuck's sake. Just to please YOU

and curtail your whining, I'll change it.

By the way, too bad you're not concerned about this AND the company is wholly owned and controlled by the Chinese gov't.

[littlemissmartypants]

74. Six and a half MILLION people play Farmville

and there are how many members on this site... Surely Mr. Scorpio is not wrong! We are DUers! DOers! 48,256 NEEDED at change.org http://www.change.org/petitions/president-hamid-karzai-prevent-destruction-of-ancient-site-of-mes-aynak-the-environmental-damage-3

[Fire Walk With Me]

77. The utter hubris and entitlement of those who would do this is flabbergasting. n/t

[xiamiam]

78. Done..nt

[littlemissmartypants]

90. 48,165

.

[littlemissmartypants]

88. 489

Last edited Fri Sep 28, 2012, 12:14 PM - Edit history (1)

signatures in four days, thank you so much!!!

[littlemissmartypants]

89. Please Take a Few Moments to Watch This Video

of a city scholars believe has its beginnings during classic antiquity and was founded by a Central Asian nomadic confederation of the AD 5th–6th centuries...The Hephthalites. The Hephthalite Empire was located in the territories of present-day Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and China.

&feature=player_embedded http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hephthalite

[bullwinkle428]

91. I wonder how much money Romney is making off of this.

K&R.

[littlemissmartypants]

92. 48,132

.

[littlemissmartypants]

93. 48,120

possible tipping point

[littlemissmartypants]

95. 48,068

.

[littlemissmartypants]

97. TIPPED!

Our signature rate has just peaked at 16 per hour from our five per hour starting point. .. Clearly I am on this like white on rice. When I saw that the numbers appeared to have begun "going exponential" setting the alarm to wake myself up to check on the petition site I am now thrilled with the trend. I have been in contact with the film maker and he has praised our efforts and wants us to continue. The gratitude I feel is up lifting and I want you to know how much all of you are appreciated and esteemed.

Thank you.

[Liberal_in_LA]

96. kick

[littlemissmartypants]

98. Band -e Ameer National Park

Band-e Amir in Persian: بند امیر‎, is a series of six deep blue lakes separated by natural dams made of travertine, a mineral deposit. The lakes are situated in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Central Afghanistan at approximately 3000 meters of elevation, west of the famous Buddhas of Bamiyan.
They were created by the carbon dioxide rich water oozing out of the faults and fractures to deposit calcium carbonate precipitate in the form of travertine walls that today store the water of these lakes. Band-e Amir is one of the few rare natural lakes in the world which are created by travertine systems. In 2009, Band-e Amir became Afghanistan's first national park. The lakes are primarily a late spring and summertime tourism destination, as the high elevation central Hazarajat region of Afghanistan is extremely cold in winter, with temperatures reaching as low as -20C.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hazara/7713922864/in/pool-68983083@N00/

[littlemissmartypants]

99. travertine ...Calcium-carbonate-encrusted, yet growing moss, early stage of porous travertine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travertine

[littlemissmartypants]

100. Brent E. Huffman and Xiaoli Zhou, his wife

Date of Birth
4 September 1979, Medina, Ohio, USA

Brent E. Huffman is an award winning director and cinematographer of numerous documentaries and TV news stories. His work ranges from documentaries made for Frontline/World on PBS, to Sundance Film Festival award winners, to television series made for The Discovery Channel and The National Geographic Channel, to educational films made for the China Exploration and Research Society.

Huffman has been making social issue documentaries and environmental films for over ten years in Ohio, California, Afghanistan, China, Haiti, and Puerto Rico. These films have gone on to win numerous festival awards including a Primetime Emmy, two Cine Golden Eagle Awards, a College Emmy, a Student Academy Award, and a Grand Jury Award at AFI's Silverdocs 2004 in Washington DC.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2119365/bio
http://www.germancamera.com/

[littlemissmartypants]

101. No caption needed

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbeloeil/7949345848/in/pool-68983083@N00/

This photo was taken on August 31, 2012 in Andarab, Baghlan, AF, using a Nikon D90.

[Whovian]

102. Is this a shot of yours?

Either way a very nice shot.

[littlemissmartypants]

104. Part of the Story ...

Abdul Qadeer Temore has been tirelessly working at the excavation site in the windswept moonscape of Aynak, Afghanistan for nearly a year. He hasn’t received any pay for the past four months from the Afghan government, but gets daily death threats from the Taliban on his cell phone demanding cash for his life. Abdul pledges he will keep digging until he is forced to quit.
Aynak, a desert region 20 minutes southwest of Kabul, is an archaeological treasure trove of ancient Buddhist artifacts dated at over 2,500 years old. An ancient Buddhist monastery complex, extensive wall frescos, devotional temples known as stupas, and more than 150 Buddha statues comprise a discovery of immense global importance and one of the country's richest historical sites. But it is also a site with a violent and troubled history. It was here that al-Qaeda planned the murderous destruction of 9/11, an event that became the catalyst for the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
At the same time, Aynak is home to the largest undeveloped copper reserve in the world. Directly beneath the Buddhist site lie mineral deposits worth an estimated $100 billion. Following two years of aggressive bidding, China Metallurgical Group Corporation, a Chinese government-backed mining company, beat out all international competitors and was awarded an exclusive contract in 2008 by the cash-strapped Afghanistan government to exploit the site.
The fate of the ancient Buddhist artifacts hangs in the balance as the Chinese begin planning their destructive open-pit style copper mine.
Under immense international pressure, the Chinese company gave Afghan and French archaeologists three years to excavate and move the artifacts before the copper mine gets underway. But with extremely limited resources, the dedicated archaeologists have made little progress.
“We have only discovered the tip of the iceberg, a mere 10% of the site,” says French specialist Philippe Marquis, who believes this could easily be a ten-year excavation project. Efforts to save and preserve the site have been drastically scaled back to a project whose best hope is now merely to document what is known to exist at the site before the Chinese begin construction, which they are planning to do in 2012. The remaining cultural relics, which are both too large and fragile to be moved or are still underground and thus, undiscovered, will all be destroyed.
The Buddhas of Aynak will follow several main characters to tell this dramatic and multi-layered story: Philippe Marquis, a French archaeologist leading the effort to save the Buddhist statues; Abdul Qadeer Temore, a leading Afghan archeologist at the Afghan National Institute of Archeology working to protect his cultural heritage in Aynak; Liu Wenming, a Chinese manager working for China Metallurgical Group Corporation in the compound at Aynak; and Laura Tedesco, an American archaeologist working for the Kabul-based U.S. Embassy, who is using a million dollars of U.S. military funding to attempt to save the Buddhist ruins.

https://www.facebook.com/buddhasofaynak
Genre Documentary
Studio German Camera Productions
Directed By Brent E. Huffman
Written By Brent E. Huffman
Produced By Executive Producer: Stephen Talbot, Producers: Xiaoli Zhou, Brent E. Huffman

[littlemissmartypants]

105. http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021437666 n/t

[littlemissmartypants]

106. 47,798 of 50,000 still needed...

If you have not signed the petition please go to: http://www.change.org/petitions/president-hamid-karzai-prevent-destruction-of-ancient-site-of-mes-aynak-the-environmental-damage-3
Thank you. LMSP

[littlemissmartypants]

107. Can you create a spreadsheet for this...

48068 0258 hrs
47798 2315 hrs
20.25 Total Hours
270 Signatures

____ Rate per Hour

____ Rate per Day

[littlemissmartypants]

109. 1.6/hr

47798: 1111
47674: 1347, up 24

[Hutzpa]

112. I'm not sure what to make of this

nt.

[cali]

120. huh? It's pretty clear. Mes Aynak will be destroyed in order to mine.

[littlemissmartypants]

113. Petition to President Karzai Update

Sun Sep 30, 2012, 01:55 PM

47674: 1347

Mon. Oct 01, 2012 0425

14.5 hours

47,566 NEEDED

108

[littlemissmartypants]

114. 47,562

Thank you.

[littlemissmartypants]

115. 47,550

.

[littlemissmartypants]

117. 47,535

0425 47,566
0800 47,535
Thirty one signatures, Thank you.

[littlemissmartypants]

118. 1200 Signature Report

0800 47,535
1200 47,511

Twenty four signatures in four hours, thank you!

[littlemissmartypants]

119. 47,504

.