Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Syrian Embassy held a screening of the film “The Blood of Palm Trees” in Tokyo on Saturday featuring the efforts of archaeologists, led by Dr. Khaled Al-Assad, to protect and save the monuments and treasures of the historical city of Palmyra, which was attacked by the terrorist group ISIS in 2015.

The movie was produced by the General Establishment for Cinema in the Syrian Arab Republic, and the screening took place on the anniversary of the assassination of Al-Assad by ISIS.

“This is part of our cultural activities in Tokyo to introduce more information about Syria to the Japanese people – about its culture, its heritage, as well as all the suffering that people are enduring today due to the war against terrorism and the sanctions imposed on the country by the US and European countries,” Syrian Chargé d’Affaires Najib Elji told Arab News Japan.

“We hope the Japanese know more about the country and see the destruction done by ISIS and other terrorist groups that continue to this day. We also wanted to inform people about Syria’s successful cooperation with Japan in the archaeological field over the years,” Elji said.

The film, shown in Arabic with Japanese subtitles, was followed by a seminar about Palmyra, its monuments, its history and the input of Japanese archaeologists who worked in Syria. 

Around 60 people gathered to watch the movie and attend the seminar in which three specialists explained the history, current challenges and projects in place that aim to restore the monuments of Palmyra.

Houmam Saad, from the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums of Syria, attended the seminar online from Syria and talked about the restoration projects in the city since its destruction in 2015.

He praised the role of the United Nations Development Programme, which contributed to the reopening of the Aleppo Museum, and mentioned the important role of the Syrian team trained in Japan, which worked on restoring cultural sites in Syria.

SAITO Kiyohide from the Kashihara Institute of Archaeology talked about the current state of Palmyra and compared the condition of the city before and after its destruction. He talked about the Japanese teamwork in Syria that started in 1990. 

“For over 20 years, the Japanese archaeological mission worked in Palmyra, bringing many successful discoveries that brought a better understanding of Palmyrene society through their burial practices,” he said. 

MATSUBARA Kosuke from the University of Tsukuba, who stayed in Syria from 2009 to 2012, presented “Urban Planning in Damascus” and the work of the Japanese architect BANSHOYA Yoji.