Conundrum of the Bamiyan Buddhas

He was right. Within days the Taliban had all but decimated the remains of a magnificent Buddhist civilisation that had for six centuries ruled this strategic valley at the crossroads of Central Asian trade. They rampaged through the caves smashing thousands of smaller Buddha sculptures. They chiselled intricate frescoes from the walls... they gouged out the eyes and hands of those depicted. Locals say the figures in the images bore facial features typical of the Hazara, the persecuted Shi’ite minority group that populates the province. The Taliban massacred hundreds of Hazaras when they took control of Afghanistan; many in the valley believe that the destruction of the Buddhas was an extension of their genocidal campaign...

Seven years on, archaeologists and volunteers from around the world are doing what they can to put the symbols of Bamiyan’s Buddhist legacy back together again... Under debate, right now, is the question of how and whether the statues should be rebuilt... Nevertheless, Habiba Sarabi, Bamiyan’s governor, believes rebuilding the Buddhas is important for the psychic wellbeing of her province. “The Buddhas were a part of the life of people in Bamiyan,” she says. “Now the empty niches of the Buddhas affect the landscape, so the people share the sorrow.”