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As war devastates Sudan, curator Shadia Abdrabo is racing against time to preserve her country’s cultural heritage. Currently residing in France on a yearlong grant, she is building an online database of Sudan’s museums, archaeological sites, and archives after conflict and looting destroyed key institutions, including the National Museum in Khartoum. The museum once held 100,000 objects spanning prehistoric artifacts, Kushite treasures, and ancient mummies. Despite having limited resources, Abdrabo is cataloguing items from spreadsheets, photos, and old inventories to establish what has been lost or stolen, with occasional support from international museums. UNESCO and Sudanese authorities are coordinating emergency recovery efforts, but Abdrabo warns the war’s uncertainty and ongoing looting threaten irreplaceable heritage. Her mission is urgent: to record, protect, and ultimately restore Sudan’s cultural legacy before it vanishes.
AP