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Ankita Singh's avatar

This is fascinating! Glad people like Abdel exist. It reminded me of seeing BBC documentaries by Zeinab Badawi about the rich history of Africa. The Mali and surrounding countries definitely being an ancient forgotten civilisation.

Thank you for sharing this story!

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Prateek Dasgupta's avatar

Thanks, Ankita, glad you liked it!

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James Benson Sarsgard's avatar

That’s awesome, I never knew about this act of heroism! It’s nice to hear about people safeguarding our collective past from ideologues who would destroy the parts they don’t like. Reads like an adventure story too

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Prateek Dasgupta's avatar

Glad you enjoyed the read! There's a similar story from Syria, with ISIS and the Palmyra treasure. Unfortunately, the museum curator who protected it, Khalid al-Asaad, was executed in a public square for refusing to give up information about the priceless artifacts.

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James Benson Sarsgard's avatar

Yeah, I unfortunately do remember that story, very sad

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Kit Karlsson's avatar

What a beautiful story of quiet heroism. I seriously hope this gets made into a film someday. And to think we have all this knowledge now at our fingertips! Thanks Prateek for another great resource!

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Prateek Dasgupta's avatar

Thanks Kit, glad you enjoyed the read!

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