Anger and despair over state of Paterson cemetery

[caption id="attachment_227444" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Graves at the Paterson cemetery show the dilapidated state of the area where cattle roam freely, headstones and crosses lie broken on the ground and mounds of sand are all that remain of some graves
Picture: Devon Koen[/caption]

Neglect and claims of a lack of concern or action on the part of municipal officials have left residents of Paterson heartbroken about the state of their cemetery, where broken headstones lie strewn across the unkempt grounds as cattle graze among graves.

But while families lament the state of the grounds – where there are also headstones missing – the municipality has called on residents to respect the grave site by not dumping rubbish there.

Vuyani Mxube, 33, has lived in Paterson all his life and has numerous family members buried at the cemetery, where household garbage and other litter characterise the area.

“I don’t even know where some of my family members are buried anymore. The wall around the old cemetery [section] is broken and now cows wander around it breaking crosses and trampling on the graves,” Mxube said.

When the original burial site became full, the municipality had merely erected a fence around an open plot of land next to it and started using that as a cemetery, he said.

“They [municipality] didn’t do anything about fixing the wall [around the original cemetery] and only put up a fence around the open ground next to it for people to bury their loved ones there,” he complained.

A Weekend Post visit to the cemete y revealed most of the grave sites in the original cemetery were damaged or defaced.

Two cows wandered around the graves while a footpath – leading from a gap in the broken wall – led through the cemetery, crossing over the graves.

Mounds of sand were the only evidence of some graves.

[caption id="attachment_227445" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Picture: Devon Koen[/caption]

“It makes me feel bad when I think about my family members who are buried there. I feel bad about the state of it. There is no respect for the dead,” Mxube said.

Another resident, who asked only to be identified by his first name, Isaac, said there was no proper structure in place for maintaining and supervising the cemetery.

Isaac has lived in Paterson for more than 40 years and both his parents, along with his brother and sister, are buried in the cemetery.

“There is no proper infrastructure and no proper resources for the cemetery. There was an old man who used to help families find the grave sites of loved ones, but he died and now there is no one to assist families,” he said.

Isaac’s other brother was buried in Despatch recently because of the state of the Paterson cemetery and while he would like his brother to be buried alongside the rest of his family, Isaac said he felt it would be disrespectful to do so.

“I’m a Christian and in death it is relevant to make sure the place you are put to rest looks nice and that family can visit the site anytime. But it is not the case here,” he said, adding that he feared what would happen to him when he died.

“Knowing it will go the same with me makes me very upset,” he said. Vuyiseka Mboxela, spokeswoman for the Sundays River Valley Municipality (SRVM), said agreements for dealing with the issue of roaming cattle and keeping the area clean will “be augmented only if there will be a fundamental need to do so”.

“The municipality is again calling on our communities to desist the temptation of dumping garbage in all our cemeteries as there are demarcated dumping sites in [the] SRVM. ”

Mboxela said the municipality had undertaken a number of campaigns on different issues to the community, including the problem of illegal dumping.

Mboxela could not confirm when the area would be cleaned or when proper processes or procedures would be implemented to maintain the area.

“SRVM is also having a plethora of projects that are under way as we are among the towns that benefited from the small town revitalisation concept.”

This would mean a serious town uplift, she said. Mboxela said the budget in the municipality was allocated according to critical and urgent priorities.

“Currently our municipal priorities are roads, building of offices and maintenance of our existing buildings. Our budget allocation is then premised from those priorities.”