Historic Cemetery in dire state

Mar 10, 2014 News

The state of Guyana’s Le Repentir Cemetery is now in an even more sorry state.
Dense vegetation covers many tombs, and families going to pay respects to loves ones have to trek through overgrown pathways strewn with rubbish, from which the putrid scent of decay was overpowering.

An overgrown broken tomb

To gain access to the tomb one would have to do a herculean task of traversing through what looked like a jungle as opposed to a cemetery.
It appears that the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) will not be doing anything soon to rehabilitate this historic cemetery.
The Council had previously expressed willingness to rehabilitate the cemetery but could not raise the necessary funds for such an undertaking.
Kaieteur News was at the site recently and spoke to a woman who was making her way through one of the avenues to attend a funeral. She expressed sentiments similar to everyone that this news agency spoke to about the Cemetery, which is that it is in a terrible state.
“I mean this is where people come to bring closure to the death of their love ones. Ideally when you look at North American countries or other developed countries you see that people are able to go there on a regular basis and visit those who have departed this life.”
“This is a social issue and it should be something that the government should look into.”
“I think that individuals can start by cleaning up their individual grave sites. However, when it’s to this extent the access to get there it’s atrocious.”
Speaking to an elderly person Ms. Shirley Sealy on the state of the Cemetery, Sealy minced no words when she spoke on the current state of the Le Repentir Cemetery.

An access path that persons
have to traverse to get in the cemetery

“It’s terrible. I have three relatives buried in the cemetery but even if I want to go and visit my family, I can’t even remember where they are buried, I know they are buried, but the place is so consumed with over growth it’s impossible to locate the burial sites.”
She made the point of utilizing the prisoners to clean the ground. “I can’t believe this is a burial ground and you can’t even find the dead and it’s getting worse all the time, all they doing is arguing in City Hall before they get something done.
“Bring out the prisoners and let them help clear up the ground because they have to be buried here one of these days. We have to get something and clean up the place it looks horrible, it looks bad I can’t bear it at all.”
The elderly woman expressed when there is a death individuals would have to undertake to clean up the spot so that whoever it is they can have a decent burial.
“People have to come and weed it and clear it so that a tomb can be made; if not, only God knows how you will get in. Look at the condition of the ground. I ain’t see no other part in the world a ground looking like this” Ms. Sealy exclaimed.
Another woman said: “It’s a terrible site with lots of bushes. They need to do something about it; the persons who have responsibility for the Cemetery should get the ground graded. Individually persons should also play a part because if they have their relatives, definitely I think that they should come and clean up stuff.”
She made reference to different parts of the cemetery where tombs are covered with vegetation.
The M&CC had expressed the need for there to be more support from other stakeholders. Maybe the private sector could come on board and maybe individuals could be the nexus for change by doing their part individually to contribute to the beautification of the Cemetery that was once touted by the elderly as being a place of beauty.