by Navy Minkoff
Have you ever been to a Museum to notice most artifacts have been listed from foreign countries? Most of these artifacts happen to not be native to the United States but have in fact been stolen. Dating back to hundreds of years ago, Dominant countries have stolen artifacts from poorer third world countries, in efforts to generate a larger audience to fund museums such as the Natural History Museum in NYC, and more.
Currently these artifacts have been shown on display at museums. However, these third-world Countries get nothing in return, and absolutely no compensation when it is really needed. This brings up the question: Do these museums have a right to keep these artifacts, or should they be returned back to their rightful owners? Irvington High School, Social Studies teacher Ms. Diaz states, “ I obviously feel it’s wrong, and the bare minimum countries should do is give Third World Countries some kind of payment.”
A specific example of a country getting justice for an artifact being stolen is Egypt. Recently an American museum has returned a twenty-five hundred-year-old Sarcophagus, back to Egypt after they determined it was looted years ago. The Sarcophagus was believed to belong to an ancient priest named “Ankhenmaat” and was handed over to Egypt at a ceremony in Cairo. Additionally in 2021, the authorities in Cairo got around 5,300 stolen artifacts returned to Egypt all around the world. However many countries have not got justice for these stolen artifacts.
