Rebuilding Aleppo: Public Engagement in Post-Conflict Reconstruction

The intentional ruination of cultural heritage sites and monuments is by no means a recent phenomenon, however, it has been taking place in war zones for centuries. The current war in Syria, and the rise of Daesh, have certainly placed a spot light on the destruction of heritage in Syria and elsewhere. The deliberate devastation of pre-Islamic remains has obviously angered many people in the Middle East, as well as the Western observers. The old city of Aleppo, one of Syria’s World Heritage Sites, has been drastically hit by the ongoing conflict. Several governmental and non-governmental organisations started to plan the post-war reconstruction of Syria’s second largest city. Since the war in Syria is still snowballing, the possibility to reach a sustainable route for heritage reconstruction in Aleppo is not an easy task. The future care of monuments, and the flow of funding and conservation expertise will predominantly depend on how the conflict ends, and frankly the winner will have the possibility to become the main decision maker. This paper examines continuous efforts to implement a top-down approach to the reconstruction of Syria’s heritage, such as the rebuilding of the replica project of Palmyra’s Arch. I argue that such an approach must be opposed and concurrently replaced by the bottom-up approach wherein decisions and action can be generated from the wider society.