By Jeune Van Keric
SEVENTY-one-year-old Dularay Bhownauth lived among the tombs at Skeldon Cemetery for many months before he was rescued.

Like the Biblical story, Bhownauth said he was of unsound mind and could not clearly recall the events which led to him living among the dead.
But what he remembered was the fact that he once worked for over 30 years as a cane harvester at the Skeldon Sugar Estate.

Bhownauth claimed he had many bad experiences in life, which are way too private for him to share. Nevertheless, he quickly notified the Guyana Chronicle that while he was in the demented state, a named individual uplifted his monthly pensions and converted the money for his own use.

It was during his homeless state that he was involved in an accident which resulted in a fractured foot. This injury affected his mobility, and as such, he spent most of his time in the graveyard.
Overtime, his health deteriorated and concerned residents observed his homeless state and informed the relevant authorities.

On Thursday, social services officers removed him from among the tombs and took him to the Skeldon Public Hospital where he was treated before being handed over to Gary Erskine, caretaker of the Dharam Shala in Fort Canje, Berbice.

He now has his pension books and life is much better, he said.
“But I want rest, I want me bed,” he was overheard telling his fellow residents at the geriatric home, before being wheeled away by Erskine.