What a year 2006 has been! With unprecedented media attention focusing on countries receiving (or demanding the return of) looted and illegally acquired objects* we might conclude, ?at last, things are the way they should be.?

Yet how can we rest when the fate of thousands of archaeological sites in Iraq remains grim, when the U.S. inexplicably stalls on the decision that could help curb the looting of Chinese ancient tombs, when Native American burial grounds are pillaged to oblivion, when this plunder continues around the world, in areas which have not yet caught the attention of our daily newspapers?

Much of what we still hope to learn about our past is still buried at archaeological sites, still undiscovered. Isolated successes aside, the fact remains: looting causes the permanent loss of historical information that cannot be recovered.

We at SAFE believe that preserving this precious heritage requires that we are all made aware and become motivated to act.

SAFE creates a framework, a community in which anyone can participate in raising public awareness about the need to protect our shared cultural heritage. We are planning innovative programs and activities for 2007. For that, we need your help.

Start by telling someone you know about us, forward this newsletter. Tell us how we could be doing better. Talk to us. And join us.

Wishing you a SAFE New Year,
Cindy Ho, President
SAFE/Saving Antiquities for Everyone

*such as the recent return of artifacts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the J. Paul Getty Museum to Italy; the return of artifacts by the Getty Museum to Greece; the recovery of the Entemena statue stolen from the Iraq Museum; and the recovery of the gold Moche headpiece, now back in Peru, etc.