Residents of Grove, East Bank Demerara yesterday prevented two hearses attached to the Lyken’s Funeral Home from leaving after two unclaimed bodies were taken to the cemetery there to be buried.
Police were forced to intervene to allow the hearses to leave.
The bodies were eventually buried under the watchful eyes of residents who said that in the past, unclaimed bodies were taken to the cemetery and were buried in shallow graves without coffins resulting in a stench, and sometimes, dogs digging up the graves. According to one woman, who did not want to be identified: “it smell up, the [dogs] go there and dig up and you see dogs coming out with a hand or foot.”
She said that yesterday, the hearses came and “dumped” the bodies in the cemetery and were about to leave but residents blocked their path with a vehicle. She said the drivers of the hearses told them that they were only employed to drop off bodies and the Grove/Diamond Neighbourhood Democratic Council was paid $30,000 to bury the bodies.
When contacted, Lyken’s owner, Gordon Lyken said that this was the first time in a long time that they had taken bodies there to be buried. He acknowledged that this was done in the past but a procedure was followed and there were never any complaints from residents. He said that the NDC is paid to dig the grave and bury the bodies. He said that in yesterday’s case, the procedure was followed and permission was granted by the NDC but residents blocked the path of the hearses. He said they were forced to call the police since they had all the proper documentation. “They can’t stop us from doing a legal burial,” Lyken said.
After the incident, three women and three youngsters–two female and one male–turned up and proceeded to dig the graves under the watchful eyes of the residents.
“We are calling on persons in authority to look into it,” one resident said.
