Dear Editor,
It distresses me every time I make a trip to Guyana to visit my parents’ graves in the Le Repentir Cemetery in the capital city Georgetown.
Simply put, it is disgusting. I have had to put up with vandalised tombs, foul smells, piles of garbage, animal carcasses and roadways blocked with broken palm trees and old fridges. All this before I even reached my beloved and very missed parents’ final resting places.
What is going on in Guyana? Le Repentir Cemetery, first used in the early 19th century, is the country’s largest burial site with thousands of old and new graves.
My parents lived for more than seven decades in the United Kingdom, but wanted to be buried in their homeland Guyana. It is not free to bury your loved ones in the Le Repentir Cemetery. So why should I have to pay someone to clear away the garbage from my parents’ tombs? Why should I have to pay someone to ensure no one breaks into their tombs?
Truth be told, I do not feel safe during my short visits to the cemetery. People have been robbed and tombs have been broken into. I was in absolute shock when I saw a human skull on top of a tomb during one of my visits. This is the remains of someone’s father, mother, brother or sister, etc. I would be totally devastated if I arrived at my parents’ tombs and saw their skulls displayed for all to see.
What is going on in Guyana?
I remember in 2016, there was a cleaning frenzy in preparation for celebrations of Guyana’s 50th independence. The cemetery was weeded and drains were cleaned by the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) which promised to properly maintain the site. Three years later, as recently as August 2019, I read announcements in the local media again about the rehabilitation of the cemetery. Clearly promises were forgotten.
My dad and mum must be turning in their graves because of the disgusting state of their final places of rest.
I would like to take flowers to my parents’ tombs on their birthdays, wedding anniversary and Christmas. I would like to visit them whenever I feel like saying hello without the fear of being robbed or suffocated by offensive odours.
The Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) owes it to every Guyanese home and abroad who have buried their loved ones in Le Repentir Cemetery to properly maintain the grounds. Fix the fence, clean the drains, remove the garbage, prune the trees, erect benches along the walkways and install closed circuit television (CCTV) to apprehend the culprits who dump garbage, rob visitors and vandalise tombs.
Remember, many Guyanese reading this home and abroad may be buried in this dumpsite we call Le Repentir Cemetery. Do something now.
Yours faithfully,
Jenny
Birmingham, United Kingdom
