Africana55 Radio 
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
A Chilean man has been arrested after destroying one of Easter Island’s famed statues by crashing into it with his truck.
The damage angered the Ma’u Henua community, who look after the statues, or moai, and regard them as sacred.
Local mayor Pedro Edmunds Paoa called for better protection for the 1,000 or so moai on the Chilean island, including stricter traffic regulations.
“Everyone decided against establishing traffic rules when it came to vehicles on sacred sites – but we, as a council, were talking about the dangers and knew very well what the rise in tourist and resident numbers could mean,” he told the El Mercurio newspaper.
“They didn’t listen to us and this is the result.”
The Ma’u Henua community shared pictures of the destruction, which saw the figure reduced to rubble, on its Facebook page.
Created with Sketch.
Created with Sketch.
1/25 Tusheti National Park, Georgia
The World Monuments Fund (WMF) has revealed its watch list for 2020, which includes 25 historical and culturally significant sites that are particularly endangered. First up, Tusheti National Park, Georgia
WMF
2/25 Koutammakou, Land of the Batammariba, Benin and Togo
WMF
3/25 Ontario Place, Canada
WMF
4/25 Bennerley Viaduct, United Kingdom
WMF
5/25 Rapa Nui National Park, Chile
WMF
6/25 Alexan Palace, Egypt
WMF
7/25 Bears Ears National Monument, USA
WMF
8/25 Notre-Dame de Paris, France
WMF
9/25 Gingerbread Neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti
WMF
10/25 Historic Water Systems of the Deccan Plateau, India
WMF
11/25 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, India
WMF
12/25 Mam Rashan Shrine, Iraq
WMF
13/25 Inari-yu Bathhouse, Japan
WMF
14/25 Iwamatsu District, Japan
WMF
15/25 Canal Nacional, Mexico
WMF
16/25 Choijin Lama Temple, Mongolia
WMF
17/25 Traditional Burmese Teak Farmhouses, Myanmar
WMF
18/25 Chivas and Chaityas of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
WMF
19/25 Anarkali Bazaar, Pakistan
WMF
20/25 Sacred Valley of the Incas, Peru
WMF
21/25 Kindler Chapel, Pabianice Evangelical Cemetery, Poland
WMF
22/25 Courtyard Houses of Axerquía, Spain
WMF
23/25 Central Aguirre Historic District, USA
WMF
24/25 San Antonio Woolworth Building, USA
WMF
25/25 Traditional Houses in the Old Jewish Mahalla of Bukhara , Uzbekistan
WMF
1/25 Tusheti National Park, Georgia
The World Monuments Fund (WMF) has revealed its watch list for 2020, which includes 25 historical and culturally significant sites that are particularly endangered. First up, Tusheti National Park, Georgia
WMF
2/25 Koutammakou, Land of the Batammariba, Benin and Togo
WMF
3/25 Ontario Place, Canada
WMF
4/25 Bennerley Viaduct, United Kingdom
WMF
5/25 Rapa Nui National Park, Chile
WMF
6/25 Alexan Palace, Egypt
WMF
7/25 Bears Ears National Monument, USA
WMF
8/25 Notre-Dame de Paris, France
WMF
9/25 Gingerbread Neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti
WMF
10/25 Historic Water Systems of the Deccan Plateau, India
WMF
11/25 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, India
WMF
12/25 Mam Rashan Shrine, Iraq
WMF
13/25 Inari-yu Bathhouse, Japan
WMF
14/25 Iwamatsu District, Japan
WMF
15/25 Canal Nacional, Mexico
WMF
16/25 Choijin Lama Temple, Mongolia
WMF
17/25 Traditional Burmese Teak Farmhouses, Myanmar
WMF
18/25 Chivas and Chaityas of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
WMF
19/25 Anarkali Bazaar, Pakistan
WMF
20/25 Sacred Valley of the Incas, Peru
WMF
21/25 Kindler Chapel, Pabianice Evangelical Cemetery, Poland
WMF
22/25 Courtyard Houses of Axerquía, Spain
WMF
23/25 Central Aguirre Historic District, USA
WMF
24/25 San Antonio Woolworth Building, USA
WMF
25/25 Traditional Houses in the Old Jewish Mahalla of Bukhara , Uzbekistan
WMF
It wrote in an emotive post: “In the Ma ‘u Henua Community, we regret what happened this morning in the PU A PAU sector, where a truck hit one of our Ahu, seriously damaging the structure that included a moai. I love you.
“We reiterate the importance of taking care of the heritage we have in our park. Because they are not only archaeological vestiges, they are sacred elements for a living and fundamental culture in our cosmovision Rapa Nui.”
The Unesco World Heritage-protected moai are monolithic human figures, carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island between 1250 and 1500.
Many of the statues are set on stone platforms known as “ahu”.
Rapa Nui National Park was included by the World Monuments Fund (WMF) on its 2020 watchlist, which highlights 25 attractions that are particularly endangered.
WMF said these sites are facing “daunting threats such as encroaching urbanisation, political turmoil, natural disaster, and violent conflicts, or present compelling conservation opportunities”.