Latin America
Related: About this forumBrazil's National Museum blaze blamed on austerity cuts amid Olympics spending
Source: The Guardian
Rising anger at fire that gutted 200-year-old institution, described as lobotomy of Brazilian memory
Jonathan Watts and Dom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro, and Sam Jones
Mon 3 Sep 2018 17.06 BST
Funding cuts and inadequate maintenance have been blamed for a devastating fire that tore through Brazils oldest and most important historical and scientific museum and is feared to have destroyed much of its archive of 20 million items.
The blaze at Rio de Janeiros 200-year-old National Museum began at about 7.30pm local time and raged into the night. There were no reports of injuries, but senior staff have described the loss to Brazilian science, history and culture as incalculable.
By Monday morning, the flames had been extinguished, leaving museum directors to survey the smouldering ruins of Brazils heritage. Although they were initially wary of calculating the losses, the gutted building suggests that the toll will be immense.
The museums impressive assets included Egyptian and Graeco-Roman artefacts, fossils, dinosaurs and Luzia, at 12,000 years old, the most ancient in the Americas.
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While the cause of the blaze is still under investigation, government cuts and inadequate fire protection systems have been cited as key factors. Rios fire chief, Roberto Robaday, told the Guardian the two hydrants nearest the museum were dry, delaying efforts to douse the flames.
In recent years, the government has spent billions on the Olympics and major construction projects that generated kickbacks for politicians, but it has slashed spending on culture and education in the name of austerity.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/03/brazils-national-museum-blaze-blamed-on-austerity-cuts-amid-olympics-spending
lunasun
(21,646 posts)a fire prevention program for the museum and the irreplaceable history housed there!
DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)never rule out the fact that many on the right wing in latin America do indeed WANT to erase history.
Judi Lynn
(160,623 posts)3 SEP 2018
Brazilian officials on Monday blamed years of government cutbacks for an inferno that gutted the treasured National Museum, described by President Michel Temer as a "tragic" loss of knowledge and heritage.
Even before the embers had begun to cool Monday, grief over the huge cultural loss gave way to anger at funding cuts many say are threatening Brazil's multi-cultural heritage.
The museum's destruction caused a social media outcry and a crowd of around 500 protesters gathered to form a human chain around its still-smoldering remains.
"It's not enough just to cry, it is necessary that the federal government, which has resources, helps the museum to reconstruct its history," director Alexandre Keller said in front of the devastated building.
More:
https://www.afp.com/en/news/205/government-cuts-blamed-brazil-national-museum-inferno-doc-18t9ph1
Judi Lynn
(160,623 posts)Cuts blamed for devastating fire that destroys Rio's National Museum
4 Sep, 2018 7:53am
Washington Post
By: Alex Horton
Before the concept of countries existed, Luzia walked the broad savanna of what is now south-central Brazil.
Her remains were buried in the Vermelha Cave around 11,500 years ago until they were found and studied in the 20th century. Researchers later said her existence challenged the basic understanding of how humans migrated, and when.
Luzia's remains are among nearly 20 million items feared destroyed after a blaze roared through Rio de Janeiro's National Museum yesterday, in an inferno that Brazilian officials and scientists are describing as an unbearable erasure of human history.
The fire was like "a lobotomy of the Brazilian memory," said Marina Silva, a former environment minister and candidate in the upcoming presidential election, according to the Guardian. Video of the blaze showed twin columns of towering fire reaching against black sky.
More:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12118751
Judi Lynn
(160,623 posts)A fire has claimed the vast majority of more than 20 million artifacts at Brazil's biggest museum. Police deployed tear gas to control crowds who were demanding entry to inspect the damage.
Date 03.09.2018
The flames finally went out at Brazil's National Museum in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, after the loss of most of its more than 20 million artifacts. As Brazilian police used tear gas and pepper spray to keep back angry crowds surrounding the ruins and trying to force their way in, officials from the museum said that the dangers had been well known.
Vice Director Luiz Fernando Dias Duarte told Brazilian TV that the risk of fire was so present in museum employees' minds that they would unplug everything in their offices every day, and that they had recently been given training from firefighters on how to handle an emergency. Duarte said that the damage to the collection was extensive, saying highly heat-resistant meteorites were among the few items to survive.
The blaze, the cause of which remains unknown, began on Sunday evening and destroyed the museum's collections of art and artifacts dating all the way back to ancient Egypt, including the oldest human skull ever found in the western hemisphere. The museum also housed a comprehensive collection on Brazilian history, from Portuguese colonization in the 1500s until independence in the 1800s.
"It's not enough just to cry, it is necessary that the federal government, which has resources, helps the museum to reconstruct its history," museum director Alexandre Keller said in front of the burned-out building.
More:
https://www.dw.com/en/fire-risks-were-known-says-brazil-national-museum-employee/a-45337811