Vandalism hits city cemetery
It is the city’s sole public cemetery and with a location that brackets the old capital’s western entrance it’s pretty difficult not to notice what’s going on there. But as Jacqueline Woods discovered, there’s quite a bit happening behind the scenes in the graveyard–and some of it is not pretty.
Paul Ferguson, Concerned Citizen
“No, they are not selling. I know for a fact it might be just breakage because several of the graves you can just pass and see the cross or the plaque or bible or something was placed on the grave on the side.”
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
If you haven’t visited Lord Ridge Cemetery recently, then you may be unaware of what has been troubling the dead. On Sunday, Paul Ferguson and a relative went to the area but left feeling very concerned about what they saw at a number of graves.
Paul Ferguson
“A couple youths, a couple were pulling on some of the crosses. They had a big tire that they were doing somersault and all that and jumping off the grave point. This is the final resting place for our loved ones and I believe it should be a place that is respected.”
The burial site, it seems, has also become a playing ground for school children, but this empty box of condoms left lying among the tombstones suggest other activities have also been taking place among the graves.
Lawrence Ellis, Sanitation Manager, CITCO
“Well as you know the cemetery is not fenced in and we do not have round the clock security here. We do have some vandalism, but to my knowledge it is not to that extent that there is a great problem. They do steal the flowers and some ornaments that are placed on the graves, but if it is happening to a large extent it is not being reported to us.”
Particularly disturbing was this macabre discovery of this empty casket in the cemetery. The wooden box, which had no remains, appeared to have been in the ground for a while, but had recently been dug up along with the wreaths and left unattended. Although this incident is not linked to recent cases of vandalism, people in the area became concerned after they said it had been there for several days. Workmen told News 5 they had been contracted by family members to clear the grave in order to add the body of a recently deceased relative. Why the empty casket was left unattended is not clear, but by midday City Council workers had disposed of it.
City Sanitation Manager, Lawrence Ellis seemed surprised that the matter was not tended to quickly, but says he was not aware of the incident. Meanwhile, Ellis says he advises families to visit the cemetery following the burial of their loved ones and report any incidents of vandalism to the City Council.
Lawrence Ellis
“People need to and it’s sad to say that people do come and check after the funeral. If people would come and check and take a visit to the cemetery more often, then they would know if things are out of place or if things are missing.”
Paul Ferguson, Concerned Citizen
“Well hopefully the people concerned–I believe it is City Council–get some watch persons in here, a couple because it is a large area and constant monitoring and putting back the fences and gates that use to be here when I was younger. Presently as you can see a lot is not there and the place is very untidy, it’s not well kept.”
According to Ellis, Sanitation Engineering Limited, S.E.L., has been contracted to cut the grass and clear the grounds of any debris, but recent rains have hampered the work. He says by the end of the week the cemetery should be fully cleaned. Reporting for News 5, Jacqueline Woods.
Ellis says the Belize City Council is also looking at a number of options to improve the situation at the Lord Ridge Cemetery.
