Heritage Reconstruction and People in Post-Trauma Social Recovery

Abstract

The article draws on research conducted in 2019 in support of ARC-WH’s commitment to contributing to discussions on heritage reconstruction and how it relates to the post-trauma recovery of communities by shifting the focus from physical buildings and ensembles to people. It builds on research into the history of approaches to heritage under post-conflict or other post-catastrophe conditions during the 20th and 21st centuries and analysis of international agencies and organizations’ policies and projects, with a particular, if not exclusive, focus on UNESCO, ICCROM, the World Bank, and ICOMOS, as well as on discussions and correspondence with the authors of the 21 essays and papers in the fields of the philosophy and theory of cultural heritage, the politics and economics of heritage, psychology, anthropology, law and justice, contemporary technologies, and axiological analysis of heritage based on direct contact and discussion with people. Comparative analysis of these essays, which testify to the inseparability of concept from context, makes clear the need for further investigation and continuous development of the terminology, evaluations, prioritization, and methodologies current in the field of heritage perpetuation. The conclusion draws attention to the fact that, despite the not insignificant differences in how the role of heritage is perceived in different cultural, historical, and economic contexts – in refugee camps, diaspora communities, under siege conditions, or in returnee communities – people nonetheless find anchorage in cultural heritage that helps them retain their hold on their lives, however disrupted and shaken they may have been. This restorative drive derives from the need to resist and build resilience. Integrating the reconstruction of cultural heritage within the overcoming of societal trauma and in socio-economic recovery is a complex and lengthy process, in which the intangible expressions of heritage seek forms to embody them. The integrated reconstruction of cultural heritage should be based on the fulness of heritage’s socio-economic and psychological significance for people and for heritage communities, and as such should itself be inclusive, participatory, and resilient.