Reviving the Spirit of Mosul: The Reconstruction of Cultural Landmarks as a Tool to Foster Reconciliation in Post-Conflict Recovery

Abstract

Culture can play a key role in post-disaster recovery, as it reinstates feelings of a collective ‘return to life’ in the affected population. This becomes even more important in post-conflict contexts, where destruction has often been carried out with the express purpose of erasing people’s cultural identity and their ties to their communities. Conflict is often the result of a long process of political instability, controversy, and, sometimes, extremism, all of which deprive people, and especially the young, of a full experience of the history and multifaceted culture of their own countries. In such contexts, the physical reconstruction of historical landmarks serves a double purpose: it becomes a tangible manifestation of the reestablishment of lost symbols and values, and it helps the rediscovery of cultural roots and identities eroded by years of conflict and political instability. This is only effective where there is active involvement of the local community in the reconstruction process, which means striking a balance between technical constraints imposed by conditions at the sites, the values and expectations of the local population, the specific social context, and measures designed to engage the community in the process. This article presents some of UNESCO’s work in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq with a view to analysing challenges and opportunities. The reconstruction of historical landmarks there has been being implemented as a vehicle for social cohesion and reconciliation since the end of conflict in 2017.