Basra The cultural circles in Basra mourned the “former curator of the central library in Basra, Alia Muhammad Baqir, who died today, as a result of complications from the Coronavirus.
The late Alia held the position of library of Basra, and before the British forces invaded in 2003, she was afraid that the contents of the library, including priceless books and manuscripts, would be destroyed and vandalized as a result of the war and its consequences, so she asked the governor of Basra at the time to allow her to transfer the contents of the library to a safer place but her request was rejected without any reason.
Alia did not care about the governor’s refusal, so she began transporting the books at night, and when the British forces invaded Basra, Alia continued her efforts to transport the books and a group of neighborhood people helped her, and they transferred the contents to a nearby restaurant called Hamdan Restaurant in the center of Basra.
One of the American journalists reported her story while transporting books from the central library to her home to preserve them from theft and destruction during the chaos and theft that state institutions were subjected to during 2003.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency