Reclaiming Egypt’s stolen history

Mohammed Ibrahim is minister of Antiquities of the Arab Republic of Egypt and has written an opinion piece for The Hill (Mohammed Ibrahim, 'Reclaiming Egypt’s stolen history', May 31, 2014).

Nobody owns history. The artifacts and antiquities that tell the story of our ancient and common humanity belong to everyone, regardless of culture or border. Sadly, though, many of these priceless and irreplaceable objects— statues, carvings, vases, parchments, tombs and other relics from thousands of years ago— are being illegally plundered away from our common access for individual gain. They are bought, traded and transferred around the world, just so they can be displayed privately in wealthy individuals’ collections or earn enormous profit for thieves, often sophisticated armed gangs looking to finance criminal operations. Many of these black market items are, of course, of Egyptian origin. As Egypt’s minister for Antiquities, it is my solemn duty to safeguard the artifacts that provide a window into the heritage of all civilization, as told through the events and peoples that have inhabited Egypt. From the ancient age of Pharaoh to the Greek and Roman empires to the rise of Islam and the modern era, this prized heritage is now in extreme danger [...] the profits from our stolen history are lining the pockets of criminal syndicates

He asks the international community to help turn back this tide and asks the United States to do its bit: 

The black market for Egypt’s ancient relics stretches across the world. Billions of dollars pass through London, Hong Kong, Paris and Moscow. However, the United States stands alone as the single largest conduit for stolen Egyptian antiquities. [...] The situation demands international action and no entity is more central to the fight than the United States. That is why Egypt has submitted a request to the U.S. government to pursue a Memorandum of Understanding to address the illegal trade of Egyptian antiquities.  [...]  If the United States can take the simple step of preventing the illegal trade of stolen Egyptian antiquities at its border, it will show Egypt how serious it is about helping to ensure a better future for the Egyptian people. 

Of course he was too polite to address any words to those Americans who do not want to see restrictions on the illegal trade of stolen Egyptian antiquities of the types they personally collect. I think the rest of us can make up our own minds about what we, and people on 'the Hill'  think of that sort of people.