Dinu Bumbaru, a heritage activist and professor at the Université de Montréal School of Architecture, visited Haiti following its devastating January 12 earthquake. Élise Dubuc, a professor at the Université de Montréal Department of Art History, has helped the country with its pressing demands to save archives to art collections. Both are contributing all they can to save Haiti's precious heritage.
“For example, a Port-au-Prince museologist wants to know if we can and if we must recuperate art work from the collapsed Presidential Palace,” says Dubuc.
Bumbaru faces a different challenge. “From a heritage standpoint, the inventory was incomplete. As part of its modernization, Haiti was preparing to review its laws and begin an inventory, but now everything must be redone,” says Bumbaru, who serves as president of the Canadian National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).
Bumbaru and Dubuc agree on two things: the priority is to provide emergency relief first and that nothing can be accomplished without the participation of the Haitian people.
The Institut de sauvegarde du patrimoine national d'Haïti (ISPAN) has just signed an agreement with the department overseeing the bulldozer drivers to make sure they are aware that they may come across some objects of value. This type of agreement isn't as common or evident as one would think. Bumbaru explains that following the floods in the Saguenay region of Quebec in 1996, the director of the museum could not even approach the building as cleaning crews kept her at bay.
Another problem facing Haiti is property rights. “There are no more administrative archives and no more land registries,” says Dubuc. “So what are people expected to do? Should they stand in their yard to protect their land?”
Dubuc adds that storing works of art will now be a major problem. Once works are recuperated, a safe warehouse will have to be set up and will become an additional challenge to heritage rescue.
On the Web:
- About the Université de Montréal
- About the Université de Montréal School of Architecture
- About the Université de Montréal Department of Art History
Media contact:
Sylvain-Jacques Desjardins
International press attaché
Université de Montréal
Telephone: 514-343-7593
Email: sylvain-jacques.desjardins@umontreal.ca
