The Guyana Police Force is investigating the removal of sand from a burial ground located at Murphy Dam Cemetery, West Bank Berbice which resulted in several tombs disappearing.
Commander of Region Five, Kurleigh Simon when contacted yesterday said that an investigation was launched and a file was sent for advice. He said that the file was later returned and there are some matters that need to be cleared up among the parties involved, after which the file will be resent for advice as to the way forward.
Earlier this month, the Regional Vice Chairman, Rion Peters, had said that he had received reports that “some individuals” were doing excavation in the Murphy Dam Cemetery. As such he decided to check on the situation where he discovered “residents who were in grief and who were dissatisfied.”
According to Peters, he was very surprised that persons would want to carry out such an act in a cemetery the “final resting place” for the deceased.
Sand has been in heavy demand for construction and this is not the first time it has been removed from an area like this.
Peters stressed that based on the Rosignol/Zeelust Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) layout (plan) the area is officially identified as a communal burial ground as he stressed then that the police have been contacted.
Clarifying that to his knowledge the individuals involved had no contract with the RDC to supply sand, Peters had said, “There is a lot of construction going on so I’m not sure if this sand is being sold to private persons or contractor or what but the fact remains that the issue at hand is that the sand was removed from a cemetery and it is affecting the community.”
Meanwhile, several residents who had gathered at the location after the discovery had said that the graves of their relatives cannot be found.
Vanessa also known as “Vanu” relayed that her husband passed away in June and was buried at the location, however, they cannot find his grave since the excavation. “We get message that somebody digging out and when we come nothing na here, just the hole we seeing, not even one piece board, nothing, nothing.”
Another villager, Rajendra Victor, 64, explained that several other tombs are missing. “More people bury here and them can’t find them… Last week Saturday me come a back dam and see them a dig with a hymac and them move out that one heap sand and them na move this one… Them a time people and try to move it and abbay loved ones them bury here, me father, me mother, me sister all bury here”, he said.
According to Victor, decades ago four residents came together and handed over the land for the burial ground. “When rain fall all them tomb wa left go wash down, them na supposed to do that to come and destroy the burial ground”, he lamented.
On October 15th, Juliet Dukhi, wrote a letter to Stabroek News expressing how distressed she was as she tried to grapple with the situation. She highlighted that one of the graves was the resting place of her mother and this event has left her drained emotionally and psychologically.
“Why did he continue to allow residents to continuously bury their loved ones there? Why didn’t he erect a notice that it’s private property? If he owns this land why is the Rosignol NDC selling the burial plots and not him? Why didn’t he inform the residents that he owns the land and it will be dug up and the sand removed/sold? These residents I refer to are from the catchment area of Cotton Tree Village on the northern end which includes the neighbouring villages on both sides as well as those at the Southern end under Blairmont/Gelderland such as Plantain Walk and Shieldstown“, she stated in the letter.
In a video on Facebook, a family could be seen at the burial site condemning the acts as it mourned its loved one.
One woman stated that upon hearing the news, she sent someone to look for her mother’s grave only to hear it had been removed.
Another man could be seen in the video grieving the loss of his brother as his older brother spoke about the fact that his brother was only buried a month ago.
“We are poor people and punishing and we had people pool money to help us bury my brother now, we can’t even say we coming to visit our brother because he is gone”, he lamented.
