Resort blocks access to portion of Hopkins graveyard…
We often hear of questionable land deals that infringe on the rights of others. But have you ever heard of a development that infringes on the rights of the dead? Well, such is the case in Hopkins Village, Stann Creek, where a resort is claiming an entire half of the community’s graveyard. Recently on another assignment, News Five flew via chopper and captured these images which show that the company, Hopkins Harbour Development Limited, has a security booth on the road at the entrance of the resort site that essentially blocks the access to half of the burial ground. So villagers who want to pay a visit to deceased family members on that portion of the graveyard have to get the company’s permission. When we flew over the area, we noted two traffic cones blocking the remainder of the road just past the security checkpoint and leading to the resort site. In fact, villagers of Hopkins tell News Five that the company also desecrated graves at the inception of the project.
And despite a picket which villagers staged in 2002, the Hopkins Harbour Development seems to be operating uninhibited. We say that because several years later the villagers still do not have public access to part of the cemetery and dredging has now reportedly begun to create manmade canals for the project. That too has raised alarm since the residents we spoke to say the practice is detrimental to the fish population in the area.
But how did things reach this point? Well, News Five has learnt that in the eighties the graveyard somehow changed to private hands along with the adjoining parcel where the resort site is located. It has changed ownership twice since and the developers began work on the site for subdivision and another protest was staged. Today, News Five tried to find answers. We spoke first with the former Chairman of the Hopkins Village Council, Mario Augustine, who, like many villagers, is upset about the whole issue.
Mario Augustine, Former Hopkins Chairman (Via Phone)
“The first original owner acquired that five acre originally the graveyard into their plan and that is from where their route started.”
Marion Ali
“How could somebody get a portion of a graveyard as their private property though?”
Mario Augustine
“Well, that is the incredible part that we’re still wondering how certain things like that happened. But we have gotten to the bottom of that and around 2000 or 2002, we legally got it back through a letter from the Solicitor General.”
Marion Ali
“Stating…”
Mario Augustine
“Yes, we get back that five acres. It was to be handed over back to the rightful owners which are the Hopkins people of course.”
Marion Ali
“What has happened since that letter?”
Mario Augustine
“Since that letter, the administration of the village changed. At that time, I was the Chairman of the Village Council when this fight had started and within two years—we were satisfied that we had gotten legally and lawfully by this document, so we didn’t expect that those people were going to tamper with it anymore. Since we were not ready to use it, we just left it there until the time comes to use it because the present burial ground was almost filled.”
Marion Ali
“So you would have gone back to the old burial ground, which is the one were talking about?”
Mario Augustine
“Not exactly the old one. Just behind the old one there was an additional five acre just behind that and that was twenty-eight acres within that grave area. Yeah, it was about twenty-eight acres; that belongs to the Ramirez family and the Ramirez family sold that twenty-eight acres to a lady from here who joined company with another American guy and formed that Hopkins Harbour Development Limited. That is where this thing originates from. Along the way, while we are looking at these things and watching the development, we had noticed that the five acre specified was included in this original twenty-eight acres that these people have.”
Marion Ali
“And that includes the graveyard.”
Mario Augustine
“Of course it does.”
