THE Le Repentir Cemetery falls within the responsibility of the Georgetown City Council. Just about half a century ago, it was famous as the Caribbean’s largest cemetery and being most well-kept. The cemetery occupies an entire plantation, unlike any other, and it was a gift from a French immigrant, Pierre Louis DeSaffon. The story of DeSaffon is a tragic one. He was a wealthy, well-born Frenchman who killed his brother in a duel and was so overcome with grief and remorse that he decided to banish himself from the civilised life of Europe to the British colony of Demerara, which, along with the French penal colony of Cayenne, was considered to be one of the most primitive territories of the Americas. DeSaffon was a natural businessman and, in a short time, became a wealthy man and was fully accepted into the small white community, even being admitted into the Freemasons’ Lodge. Among his acquisitions were three plantations, the names of which were reminiscent of his tragedy—Le Ressouvenir (Remembrance), La Penitence (Penitence), and Le Repentir (Repentance). Saffon Street in Georgetown commemorates him. He gifted Le Repentir to the people of Guyana to be used as a cemetery.

The parts of the Le Repentir plantation adjoining Georgetown were immediately developed. The land bounded by Sussex Street on the south, St Stephen’s Street on the west, and Princes Street on the north was cleared of vegetation, drained, and laid out into beds to accommodate the graves. Two red, burnt clay roads were built, connecting Sussex Street and Louisa Row/Princes Street with Broad Street, leading to the east-to-west cemetery road, which extended into the back dam or undeveloped area. Along both sides of the roads, flowering trees were planted, and royal palms lined the roads leading into the back dam area. The perimeter trench around the cemetery provided both security and drainage. Later, coconut palms were planted along the perimeter trench, and these provided the Town Council with an income from the sale of coconuts.

The section of the road leading from Louisa Row to the junction of the east-to-west road was particularly striking: The Sexton’s office was housed in a neat cottage, and along both sides of the road, a variety of flowers, including marigolds, bachelor buttons, lilies, hibiscuses, and queen of flowers, were planted. At the meeting point of the two roads, there was a Masonic monument displaying the square and compasses.

The burial areas were allotted to the Catholics, Muslims, and Hindus, with the largest area being the General Ground. A small area was unofficially given to Chinese nationals, who occasionally conducted Buddhist/Confucianist burials. The vast majority of the Chinese community were Christians and had no connection with this area, which in time was reabsorbed into the General Ground. A number of rangers were employed to keep the cemetery under surveillance and were responsible for its general security, closing the gates exactly at 6 p.m.

Until the end of the 1950s, the cemetery was well-kept and efficiently managed. Until the 1950s, the franchise for electing Town Councillors was restricted to property owners, and those who offered themselves to serve as Councillors were successful businessmen, prominent lawyers, and other professionals. Similarly, the employees of the Council came from the educated middle class, and it was regarded as prestigious to be working at Town Hall. With such a team, the City was managed with efficiency and financial integrity, creating the cemetery for which Guyana was proud.

Then, in the 1960s, the Council was democratised. A different level of persons was elected as Councillors, who were far less educated and financially independent, and they set about changing the employees of the Council, who turned out to be less capable than their predecessors. The management of the City collapsed, corruption could not be controlled, and all the services of the City, including Le Repentir Cemetery, ceased functioning or functioned at a very low level. To save the day, the Central Government found itself forced to undertake essential services, such as road repairs and garbage disposal. Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, at one of his recent press conferences, disclosed to journalists that his Government was committed to the rehabilitation of the cemetery and had already started with the construction of a four-lane road across it.

We do not know what Government’s plans are, but the Guyana Consumers Association would like to make the following suggestions:
· Drainage – The perimeter trench should be cleaned and deepened, and its outlet to the larger canal leading to the river koker should be cleared; the cross drains between the burial beds should be straightened and deepened.

· Roads – The main roads crossing the cemetery from east to west and north to south should be widened and asphalted, and the pathways between the burial beds should be reinforced with stones; all gates and bridges leading into the cemetery should be repaired and strengthened. At the junction of the two main roads, as was done in the past, the Masonic monument should be re-erected to honour DeSaffon’s memory.

· Vegetation – All trees and unwanted vegetation should be removed from the burial beds, and broken tombs should be repaired; grass should be regularly weeded and burned in small piles when dried.

· Aesthetics – Flowering trees, such as flamboyants (in multiple colours), golden showers, and cannonball trees, should be planted along the main roads, and marigolds should be cultivated in the vicinity of the Sexton’s office and between the tombs if relatives wish to do so.

· Tomb Architecture – The few Muslim maqbaras (ornamental tombs), the Mediterranean-style tombs with several vaults found in the Old Roman Catholic ground, the 18th-century-style graves in the General Ground, as well as the Hindu symbols of AUM and Swastikas, should be preserved. The ornate iron grill fences, which dated from the 19th century but were stolen, can never be replaced, but the basic information on the stolen marble plaques should be replicated in concrete. Families using marble plaques should embed them in ornamental concrete scrolls to prevent theft.

· Medic and Sexton Office on Call – To assist mourners if they need help. The records held at the Sexton’s office should be copied and preserved, and the systems used by the Sexton’s office should be modernised and properly documented. The National Archives should establish a close connection with the Sexton’s Office.

· Security – Until the collapse of city management in the 1960s, the cemetery was a very safe and peaceful place. Over time, thieves and robbers invaded the grounds, attacking mourners and passers-by. Now, visitors must bring their own security. A detachment of Police or City Constabulary should be deployed to patrol the cemetery and should be properly equipped to arrest or warn suspicious characters.