Latest update November 26th, 2024 1:00 AM
Over 300 tombs desecrated in Le Repentir
Even in their final resting place the dead are not resting in peace. Drug addicts continue to wreak havoc, damaging more than 300 tombs in the Le Repentir Cemetery in search of steel.
At first the addicts targeted the elaborate grill work that surrounded some of the tombs but since that is now not readily available, they have turned their attention to the actual tombs, ripping out the steel from the concrete that holds the tops together.
Some of the damaged tombs.
This situation was brought to the attention of the media by some concerned cemetery workers who are fearful that they will be blamed.
“We had to expose this thing because we getting the blame. People saying that is we who breaking up the tombs because we want to get more work to repair them,” one of the workers told this newspaper.
When this newspaper visited the Le Repentir Cemetery yesterday, several tops of tombs were shattered, in some cases exposing the caskets and coffins within.
Reports are that some of the damaged tombs were recently built.
According to reports, the vandals appear only to be interested in the tombs that are built with quarter inch steel.
“If they break and see fine steel, they left it and break another tomb that got the fat steel,” a worker informed.
The area most affected is the section of the cemetery that is close to the community of Albouystown where there is a ready market for scrap metal.
The workers blamed the situation on the thick bush that engulfs the cemetery, claiming that the authorities need to take drastic measures to stop the disgracing situation.
“Over three hundred tombs done break up. By breaking this side, it is closer to where the iron is selling,” one of the workers explained.
They claimed that their efforts to apprehend the perpetrators have gone in vain because minutes after handing over one to the police, the suspects are released and are back in the cemetery creating havoc.
“We catch one and hand he over and in two hours time they loose he. Probably he wash some car and he back on the road again,” the worker stated.
Apart from the high bushes the workers lamented the absence of adequate security in the cemetery since they claimed that the vandals attack the tombs in droves.
“Sometimes we passing and we hear budum, budum! Is people using sledgehammer fuh hammer open dem tombs. But we don’t tek a chance because we don’t know wha dey gat and how much ah dem,” another worker stated.
According to the workers, the authorities are only fooling the population that they are clearing the cemetery.
They explained that only a certain section of the facility was cleaned to facilitate the Enmore Martyrs memorial on June 16.
“They just fool the public and say that they cleaning cemetery. They never had intention fuh clean the cemetery. Dey just clean because them big boys gat fuh go deh. You gat to ask whey de prisoners deh now,” the cemetery worker said.
They pointed to the old mortuary facility, which is a complete ruin.
“They had a guard deh and dem junkies used to pelt brick pon de roof and gat dem guard thinking dat is jumbie in de place. You know how much guard lef de wuk?”
This has led to a free for all for the drug addicts to move in and remove the roof from the facility.
They spoke of fancy vehicles driving into the cemetery at some odd hours and called for the beefing up of the security arrangement.
Another set of workers expressed disgust that they are not given identification cards to confirm that they are employees of the City Council.
“Imagine we ain’t got ID cards and dey give dem junkie wha wukkin pon de dump ID cards,” a worker claimed.
Efforts to contact officials from the Mayor and City Council were unsuccessful.
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