The dead are not welcome in Hattieville Village
The Belize City Council announced plans for a new cemetery near mile thirteen on the Western Highway about a week ago and it is already facing opposition from Hattieville residents. The Lord Ridge Cemetery is quickly running out of space and the twenty point seven acres at the new burial site is expected to offer over twelve thousand grave sites on sturdier ground. But the Hattieville residents were not consulted and are objecting on many fronts to the plan. Hattieville Chairman, Gilbert Domingo, says the council will hold a special meeting because the cemetery is simply not good for the village.
Gilbert Domingo, Chairman, Hattieville
Gilbert Domingo
“We feel disrespected in the sense that we should have been notified. A movement of this magnitude, we should have been notified on it and find out what our position on it was. And now we hear preparing for a burial ground that we know nothing about. So the Hattieville community is now getting together to stand against it. They said that they need high land—cause we got a few information about things they need. They said they need higher land but as you can see in the interview, they were in water up to their knees. The other thing is we’ve already got a burial ground in Hattieville. We got a burial ground, we got a prison, we got a poorhouse; all that kind of stuff. We believe that if they had taken the time to dialogue with us. We could have worked something out, maybe figure out—we got a lot of space in our burial ground. We don’t need two burial grounds in a small community as Hattieville. We also concerned about the same water problem they’ve got. There’s a creek behind there. If something should happen to the burial ground, what’s gonna happen to the creek that runs through the middle of our village also.”
“Right now we’re getting legal advice on where to go and how to go about it because we’re preparing to fight and to do what we can to either get this burial ground somewhere else away from our village or if it comes down to the point that we have to have it here then we need to find somewhere maybe more appropriate to put it or we also need to figure out what we’re gonna get from rather than just the brand in Hattieville. It’s a reputation thing we have to deal with but we really got more serious problems. I believe that they know that economically, we’re not doing great. And from an infrastructural standpoint, we need help, we need people to come in but the burial ground ain’t gonna bring a lot of help to us.”
Domingo says hundreds of Hattieville residents are supporting a petition against the cemetery and he expects to get more signatures at a meeting being held in the village tonight.
Even though the country needs a new Burial Site I must agree with the Resident of Hattieville that they should have been consulted and Petitions should have been signed by them regarding this issue. Times have change and People in poor villages are wisening up to just not accepting what is thrown at them anymore.
Thats **” up!!!!
Belize is for Belizeans. Hattieville is not a country unto itself. They cant decide if a cemetery goes there or not .What is the big deal with laying our Belizean dead to rest there. Besides, similarly to the prison, a cemetery will bring commerce to the community. Grave building, headstone making etc… They didn’t complain about the prison. Dead people don’t escape.
Doesn’t the building of a cemetery need the department of environment involvement in it too to do one of those studies? The EIA study. Willoughby is talking like he is the Prime Minister of Belize. He is only the acting Mayor of Belize city which boundaries is up to mile six bridge. He doesn’t have no say about anything after that. So who is he to come and talk a whole heep of Crap about doing Homework. I bet if you ask him about the minutes or anything in writing about the meeting with the CEO of the different Ministry they won’t be any. Come on.
I can’t believe that there exists such an opposition to such a crucial problem. It is obvious that with the vast increase of violence and crime in Belize, an expanded cemetery will be needed. Dead people must be cremated or buried. They do not harm anyone. You are safer amongst them than the living hoodlums running wild. Great cities in the world have cemeteries sprawled out within their boundaries. Respectfully so, the residents of Hattieville need to be a part of the decision-making process. However, if this is an ego-thing, “lay it to rest,” and get on with the planning, so the work can begin. Collaborate, communicate, negotiate with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. Please do something quickly because people are dying, and you can’t stop that.
Think apart from consultation, Citco should have done a public consultation or allow some time to sensitize the public and get feedback from them about the move. Yes it needs a new location, but is any thought given into the additional costs for families to hire taxis to go the extra 28 miles distance back and forth; or the back to back traffic along the highway; or the fact that there will be two cemeteries within a 3 mile space (One already in Hattieville); or the fact that Hattieville already has a w*ore house (Mile 10), Prison, Crazy house, Old Folks house and now an additional attraction of another cemeter? Lets get some feedback and assess other areas in closer proximity to Belize City. What about Mile 8 Homeland burial site on the Western Hwy?
The city limits have expanded. The residents need to know that we will need area designated for our burial (unless you request cremation). It will need proper planning on the city council side, and educating the public. We need land for the living, without sounding disrespectful as I know it is a very sensitive topic. This may need encouraging families to reuse grave sites, building mausoleums rather than single graves which takes up considerably more space. This really requires proper planning. Therefore I hope that the people taking on this project will seek consultation from people in the field in other countries, go and see how these things work on the ground in other countries.
I can understand how the people in Hatteville would be uncomfortable with this decision. If you bought your property then suddenly you realised that each day, possibly hundreds of people descend on your area, it can be daunting, and if the cemetery is not looked after properly then you can have smells, etc.
This can also provide to be a bit of business opportunity for the more resourceful people, shop keepers, restaurants and bars in the area. I hope the people and council can find a common ground and move forward.
how can i get in contact with the chairman thats my dad and i live all the way in the states