Promoting on Serial / Transnational World Heritage Nomination of Leprosy / Hansen's Disease, Tse chun Lai , 賴澤君 秘書長 ,general secretary of IDEA Taiwan,

 

23 November 2010

Seoul, South Korea

  

Promoting on Serial / Transnational World Heritage

 Nomination of Leprosy / Hansen's Disease.

Tse chun Lai , general secretary of IDEA Taiwan,

Professional in Architecture and urban planning.

 

I.         BEGINING

      i.             At first of all, I will thanks to the Forum give me the chance to talk the topic today I will thanks everyone here, our members of IDEA International , WHO, lawyers, religions, many Dr, social workers because of your efforts for Hansen disease in the past years and let me have chance to participate in and see the really value of the world, it’s like the forum talk "Isolation to Integration" . It’s an achievement from everyone here.

    ii.             About the topic, to promoting on Transactional World Heritage of leprosy, perhaps it’s hard for everyone to think how it could be work? Now I will share a experience of a workshop which hold last year in Taiwan, at that time, there were many members of IDEA International such as Korea, Japan, Norway, Malaysia, Guam, and United states (Hawaii) came to Taiwan to participate together.

  iii.             At the same time, many participator had looked the Taiwan authority also started to demolish some preciously Architecture and Landscape of Losheng Sanatorium just want to build MRT garage, it’s really shocked everyone.

  iv.             We were fortunately, on the workshop we discussed the basic human rights with the old generation and look at some creatively samples have did in different countries such as Hawaii and Solouk Do became National Park, Japan and Norway have Museum of HD, but we also see Taiwan and Malaysia the people affected by HD lose their homeland.

 

    v.             Finally, on the workshop we reached a strong evidence that Lo-sheng sanatorium and all the Hansen’s disease sanatoria in the world really meet the UNESCO serial / transnational world heritage criteria.

 

II.      HOW IT COULD BE WORK

 

Now, I will give more descriptions and discussion let everyone to understand why  “transnational World Heritage nomination of Leprosy / HD  ”could be work.

1.        History and Analyses.

2.        Value of leprosy / HD properties.

3.        What can we do now?

4.        IV    Conclusion

 

      i.             At first, let us looking at HISTORY AND ANAYSES about Hansen’s disease. I did a simple statistics and analyses for the database of “Global Project on the History of Leprosy",(GPOHL) [i]which set by ILA dating from 1847. I find that already had more than 505 Leprosaria which spanning more than 78 countries in the past centuries . which contained isolation islands, colonies, sanatoria, hospitals, villages, and some shelter etc many many different kinds.

 

    ii.        In another way I also asked Dr. GP, he said that there were 800 colonies now in India, and Dr, Michel Cheng told that there were 600 villages in China. It pointed it really a transnational collective issues. This historical sites were meaningful, like the UNESCO Quebec declaration in 2008 said “ the spirit of places” of Leprosy/ HD history.

 

  iii.         And we know, Many of this places enforced strict segregation policies, patients got inhumane treatment[ii][iii], faraway their families, their homeland, and got abortion, forced labor, education interrupted etc, like living in concentrated camps, and also affected their families. The history were even more early than Nat’s campus in Germen.

 

  iv.       the History and evolution of social policies of HD is very special: I think it can be separated into 4 periods.

    1). Common social prejudice periods. (1550BCà1850)

2). Medical Progress periods. (1880à 1980)

3). Policy Bias periods. (1800à 1980), madness of civization.

4). Fighting for Human rights periods. (1950à 2010)

5). How to Sublimate the historical experience in future.

 

Looking at the evolution of social policies in the past one or two centuries, should be said have crate new human civilization records.

 

v.             "History always learn and grow from mistakes". But in this long process, a group always under various trials and suffering endless pain because the segregation , Isolation policy. “People get sick no wrong, they can not choose”, but the society has an obligation to take care of them, in the past years, we can see many individual affected by HD, and attracted the social revolutions and reflection to protect the human rights of the individual who affected by Leprosy/HD . I think it is an important contribution to the world.

 

III.   THE CRITERIA FOR LEPROSY /HD PROPERTY

 

i.             Look at the history and analasis we can more understand the value of the HD. Earlier in September 2008, the World Heritage Centre sent out a Circular Letter to consult States Parties to the Convention on serial national and transnational nominations.(WHC-09/33.COM/10A ) . There was a famous cas that UNESCO, WHC had a Sub-regional Workshop on the Serial World Heritage Nomination of the Silk Roads from 2008 which spanning a quarter of the globe.

ii.             The leprosy / Hansen’s disease history is similar to the Silk Roads, traced to almost  2000-4000 years of human civilization, spanning in different Area of the world, rich of historical and cultural diversity. Moreover, the evolution of policies in modern , the medical and scientifical contributions and  universal values of human rights all related to the transnational achievement. All of them shall meet UNESCO's criteria for register on the World Heritage list.

iii.             Property : Expert Review. The important criteria for leprosy / HD           

At Workshop in Taiwan, 2009, the Professor Yukio Nishimura, from the Tokyo University, the former vice president of ICOMOS, he pointed out that Lo-Sheng and other Hansen’s disease historical sites in the world  maybe ‘meets’ UNESCO’s criteria[iv] (ii)(iv)and(vi) associative value.

 

 He said that while the sanatorium is not a ‘masterpiece of creative genius’ nor a ‘testimony to a cultural tradition,’ it does have other valuable traits, such as universal values, and special medical items, also match with human rights and the development of civilization and multiple complex projects. He suggested that “International organizations can refer to these values from the depth exposition and promotion of transnational WH of Leprosy / HD , like other sites that were listed as World Heritage sites because of their associative value include, such as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial , the Auschwitz concentration camp and the historic center of Warsaw — 80 percent of which was reconstructed after World War II, etc. ( Taipei Time; IDEA Taiwan, 2009).

 

iv.             The important criteria for Leprosy / HD property really perhaps we could give depth exposition and promotion such as:

1) The history and culture value and significance are valuable:  

2) The brilliant achievements of medical and scintifical research: which ending superstition, ignorance and elimination of leprosy after almost 2000 years in the recent centuries.

3) Highlight the universal values of human rights: looking the campaigns in past, contained UN, WHO, different states, non-government organizations, religious, NGOs and the individuals affect by the disease. This architment reflect the precious of human maturity.

4) The value of Modern Hansen's disease sanatoriums: A tangible heritage which had been widely established throughout the world during the colonial and empiral ages. Albeit a negative history but some of them had outstanding example of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape , those Lepsariums form a special typology in the world.

5) Associative value: "History like a mirror". We preserve it and transform it for educating next generation, ending the madness history of leprosy. Apparently, it also meet the UNESCO newly work for promoting cross-border and transnational World Heritage preservation between States, to pursuit world peace and universal value.

 

IV.      What can we do now？

 

1.        International Linkage work:

•        If we have 10 countries will start together is good beginning.

2.        Preparing works:

•        Every countries should got the social supports and contacting with the Ministry of Culture of your government, let them determine whether participate in the transnational program.

3.        Have Formal Conferences：

•        Ms. Anwei Law had promise will preparing a formal conference in fast, and she want to invite UNESCO and everyone work together.

4.        Sources gatherings：

•        Hope the voice of the individuals affected by HD been heard, we could gather 10,000 sponsors working together.

 

 

 

V.      Contribution

 

ð   Promoting WH-HD which will also helpful with WHO, will keep on concerning health questions and medical histories in development countries, and it is a peace issue talking about enti-war and support of human rights. This transnational action will also feedback to elders, women, and children in development countries to gather global concern about MDGs program of UN, Culture of Peace with UNESCO, for education global society and our next generation, it contained rich meaning with transnational peace and global sustainable issue.

ð    

VI.    Conclusion

 

There are more and more countries decided gradually enclose those Hansen’s disease historical sits. One has happened in japan last year, “Kumamoto”. Many lawyers, ex-patients come forward to save here. The Lawyer visited Lo-sheng in July this year and the behalf  (德田靖之) had promise will  promoting the global HD World Heritage with us together .

 

 Now IDEA international is already creating a network of Leprosy Heritage Sites. Ms. Anwei, S, Law have promise will start the work to prepare a formal conference in fest and she also wish to invite everyone working together. This is a start, maybe this is our best chance, because everyone the goal is 3 years, the most up to 5 years. Most individuals who once affected by HD are old now, but their fighting in the past are so great and encourage the world to persuade peace and love world, now we will go on the work to honor the old generation for their spirit forward the world. are the spirit leader of the world.

 

Last month I went to New York，attended the conference of UN, at that time trying to gather petition all over the world , Now we can look.

 

 

 

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Global Project on the History of Leprosy" ,by ILA,fully funded by the Nippon Foundation http://www.leprosyhistory.org/english/englishhome.htm

[ii]    Lai, Tse chun ,2006,《The human rights violation  for leprosy of Losheng  Sanatoriun after 1945-2006》，HDRPU，TLSHO_Losheng，2006.04.04，News Press of Legisteration Yan of R.O.C。

[iii]       趙俊祥 / 李郁強，2006.5， (國家對漢生病人之責任分析—賠償責任而非補償責任分析)，《漢生病病人補償條例草案評估報告》，立法院法制局，頁5。

[iv]    http://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria

  Selection criteria of WHC:

1. to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius;

2. to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design;

3. to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared;

4. to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history;

5. to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change;

6.  to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria);