Friday, September 11, 2015

Apt Question

I posted this question about this week's CBS report in the comments section on an archaeological blog, but it's worth asking here too:

If it was that easy for the CBS producer and her ASOR/DOS Contractor archaeological companion to connect with a smuggler, why can't the Turkish police do the same thing, but then arrest them [the smuggler] rather than run a story about them?

Any thoughts would be welcome. 
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4 comments:

  1. Dave WelshSeptember 11, 2015 at 6:16 PM

    Perhaps the smugglers have an arrangement with the police.

    Dave elsh

    ReplyDelete
  2. John HSeptember 12, 2015 at 11:48 AM

    There are some shady archaeologists out there who are always on the look-out for a tax-free fast buck! They have history. They don't have the monopoly of honesty either despite what they try to tell the world. Just look at UNESCO.....

    John Howland
    England

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dave WelshSeptember 12, 2015 at 3:09 PM

    John,

    I am not certain whether the individuals concerned were archaeologists, but there was a very distressing and highly publicized scandal involving Egyptian officials a few years ago, who were involved in issuing false documentation for smuggled antiquities.

    I don't know just how prevalent that sort of thing is. However, given the endemic corruption in most Middle Eastern nations, it would be realistic to expect that some officials including law enforcement officers would be "looking the other way" in return for some form of compensation.

    These officials are, by our standards, very poorly paid and it may be unrealistic to condemn them for doing what they must, for their families to survive in a corrupt and disfunctional society.

    Dave

    ReplyDelete
  4. John HSeptember 14, 2015 at 11:41 AM

    Hi Dave:

    Yes, I know all about the corruption hence my earlier comment.

    Oh, so if they are poor then (by our standards), that makes it right? You're way off the mark Dave. It's most certainly realistic to condemn them. Honesty has no bearing on wealth. Some archaeologists have had considerable wealth and still had their sticky fingers in the cookie jar.

    So, if poor officials have to thieve to feed their families I understand, but they are still thieves.

    John Howland
    England

    ReplyDelete

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