NOTWITHSTANDING that it is the resting place of the dead, a cemetery is generally known to be a place where the hallowed environment is properly maintained. This means that its entrances have pathways that are well kept and maintained; vegetation around the graves is never allowed to grow into jungles, as it is trimmed and manicured regularly; and drainage is kept free of any blockage. As a feature that seeks to project an aesthetic of peace and tranquility, there are often bright petals that hang from flowering plants creating a garden–like scenario. The dead can indeed rest in peace in such an estate.

And those who are old enough will remember that Le Repentir was once a cemetery as described above.
Though in its hallowed grounds are the remains of so many of our loved ones, be it family or friends, it was once a beautiful place to behold, compliments of a staff complement whose dedication and industry was admirable for its daily labours at keeping the place of the dead in pristine condition, which was done with tools that would be considered primitive when compared to the modern grass-cutters. Back then it was the grass-knife, the cutlass and the scythe.
If Le Repentir’s former well-kept condition did appear to have made death, with all its peculiar accoutrements, less scary, its current thick jungle of trees and other vegetation that have taken firm root among the hundreds of once well-tended tombs and grave sites, where reptilian creatures now abound, has caused death to take on an even more dreadful spectre.
Those who are responsible, we know only too well; except to say that they ought to hang their heads in shame for allowing the Le Repentir to come to such a horrible state, where murder victims are now being dumped. Is this not gross disrespect to even the interred remains of their families and friends? Of course, it has to be! But what do they really care?
Now the cemetery is soon to be rescued from its current deplorable state, compliments of a massive clean-up and rehabilitation programme that is going to be undertaken by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, at a cost of a reported $100M. Of course, this is a component of the $500M set aside for the wider City clean-up, aimed at returning the latter to its once garden status.
This is definitely welcome news for all citizens, since many have not been able to visit the resting place of loved ones particularly on traditional anniversaries, cemetery workers now have to chop down and remove trees and vegetation from family burial plots so as to prepare for the burial of the newly deceased.
The cemetery is indisputably a national tragedy, which this comprehensive clean-up intervention will seek to correct, thereby restoring it to its once wholesome state. Minister Norman Whittaker was very appropriate when he commented: “I remember this area as a little boy; we used to come play cricket and to play hide and seek around the tombs. Now we can play guerilla warfare here.”
Given its very extensive grounds, such an area will need to have a permanent maintenance schedule, along with adequate staffing, so as to sustain this imminent initiative. This editorial is of the view that such is a daily absolute so as to ensure the cemetery’s continuous integrity.
Finally, Le Repentir is being rescued!