The Hazara, a Shia minority in Afghanistan, fear for their future under the Taliban. Mass murders of Hazara civilians took place under the previous Taliban regime in the 1990s. Also in 2001, in Bamyan, the Hazara-majority province considered their cultural capital, two world-famous Buddha statues were destroyed.
A video circulated on social media in November showing Taliban fighters using the Buddha statue area, a rocky hill lined with ancient caves with murals, as a shooting range. An image that not only hurts the Hazara, but also terrifies.
“In 2001 we heard the Taliban say that the Buddhas were against Islam,” archaeologist Mortaza Ahmadi told cameraman Amir Jan, who filmed in Bamyan on behalf of the NOS at the end of November. “This video shows that the Taliban are still hostile to the images.”
Attack on cultural diversity
According to Ahmadi, there are many legends surrounding the statues. Locally, it is believed to represent two lovers, Shahmameh and Salsal. “Anyone who has seen the faces of these Buddha statues knows that they have the features of the indigenous inhabitants of this region, and that they are therefore part of the history and identity of the people of Bamyan.”
Destroying the images was seen as an attack on the Hazara minority and the cultural diversity of Afghanistan. At about the same time, according to human rights groups, large-scale killings of civilians took place in a remote area of the province.
Images of blowing up the Buddhas went around the world:
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