Mutte Ahmed Qasem Dammaj, Yemen's newly appointed culture minister in the internationally recognized southern government, is working to address rampant looting, unguarded heritage sites, and a war-weary society after more than a decade of civil war. In an interview with The Art Newspaper, Dammaj emphasizes the need to shift international narratives about Yemen by highlighting its rich cultural heritage, including recent cultural events in Hadhramaut, Aden, and Taiz. He is negotiating with Germany, the US, Switzerland, and France to secure the return of illegally trafficked Yemeni artifacts, though challenges include a meager ministry budget of less than $1,000 per month for museums and the need to secure sites before objects can be repatriated.
This matters because Yemen's cultural heritage is under severe threat from war, looting, climate change, and neglect, with sites like Al Qahira Castle in Taiz damaged by airstrikes and the National Library burned. Dammaj's efforts represent a broader struggle to preserve national identity and challenge perceptions of Yemen as a hopelessly war-torn state. The article underscores how cultural heritage can serve as a tool for resilience and international engagement, even amid extreme poverty and conflict, highlighting the work of archaeologists like Samira Abdel Mawla Qaed Al-Qabati and filmmaker Brent E. Huffman who are documenting and advocating for preservation.