Outrage Over State of Public Cemetery

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The sad state of a public cemetery on Cowpen Road is sparking outrage among grieving families.

William Wong recently attended the funeral of a friend killed in a hit and run accident.
When he arrived at the Southern Graveyard with family, he was upset to find empty graves, collapsed pieces of wood and scribbled names written in cement on some graves.

When OurNEWS visited the cemetery, we saw discarded beer bottles, empty soda cans and trash thrown about the graves, overgrown empty plots and old cement bags.

Kirsch Ferguson, President of the Bahamas Funeral Directors Association (BFDA) said government was on track to maintain public cemeteries like the Southern Cemetery, but he thinks the resources are not readily available to consistently manage them.

He tells OurNEWS: “The issue is they are kept in a very deplorable state, [and] persons are going in cemeteries to practice witchcraft and opening graves. Any number of incidents are always on going at those cemeteries.”

Ferguson called for personnel to be placed at the cemeteries to ensure upkeep.

Wong says in the meantime, he will build a headstone for his friend’s grave to find the site among overgrown weeds.

Cherika Johnson reports.