By Joseph S. Margai in Freetown, Sierra Leone
More than 10,000 Sierra Leoneans were victims to the deadly Ebola virus. They died in their droves. The cemetery located at Paloko Village was selected to bury the dead. But not only the sacredness of the cemetery is being violated, there is a massive encroachment going on and the blame is being laid at the feet of the Western Area Rural District Council (WARDC) responsibility to take care of the cemetery.
Voluntary caretakers of the Ebola cemetery in Paloko village on the outskirt of Waterloo, Western Area Rural District, have told Groove 106FM that residents of the area are massively encroaching on the sacred ground because of gross neglect on the part of the District Council to take care of it.
According to them, the Ebola cemetery was used to bury 10,040 dead bodies from October 2014 to February 2016. The caretakers say the Concern Worldwide was managing the cemetery by paying grave diggers, caretakers, including a family liaison officer who was there to assist family members to identify the tombs where their relatives were buried. But after the outbreak was contained, it was handed over to the Western Area Rural District Council in order to ensure its sustainability.
Speaking on behalf of his colleagues on Saturday at the cemetery, Alusine Samura, a volunteer at the cemetery, said the cemetery was used to bury Ebola victims but after the disease was contained, it was opened to the public to bury their dead ones.
“We just formed a voluntary group of six members to take care of the cemetery. Our job here is to refill the mud that is washed away from the graves by the rain, brush the [undergrowth in]cemetery, help relatives to identify the tombs of their relatives that died of the disease, dig graves for members of the public to bury their deceased family members, among others,” he explained. “We were not deployed here by anyone and no one pays us,” he added.
He said they don’t have the authority to stop people from encroaching on the cemetery land and the act was still continuing with no sign of slowing down.
He disclosed that because the cemetery is very close to the sea, some people are also engaged in illicit sand mining, adding that it has a potential to massively undermine graves and cause erosion or artificial lake there too.
“Since the handing over of the Ebola cemetery by Concern Worldwide to WARDC, we have never received a cent from the council. They have totally neglected this monumental cemetery which is very important for current and future researchers,” he said.
He also complained about theft as all the corrugated iron sheets (zincs) on the roof of the toilet that visitors use and the security post, including a 2,000 litreMilla tank meant for preservation of water for visitors, have been carted away by thieves, noting that the pavilion where visitors used to sit have been dismantled and all it materials also stolen.
Quizzed how they get their livelihood as volunteers of the cemetery, he said they are given meager sum of money by people who visit the cemetery, relatives of deceased Ebola victims, who regularlygo there in order to ensure that thetombs are well kept, including members of the pubic who go there to bury their dead.
Chief Administrator of WARDC, Ahmed Shekuba Koroma, confirmed that the cemetery was handed over to the council andtheir major challenge is the huge cost involved to construct a perimeter fence around it.
“We did a letter to State House in order to assist us in the fencing of the cemetery. There is a possibility to fence it but the stumbling block now is the ownership of the land, as people have been claiming ownership of the cemetery land,” he explained. “Two sets of families have shown up claiming they have legal documents to the land to support their claims, and if we want to fence it, we should firstly clarify its legality,” he added.
He however noted that plans are underway for WARDC authorities to engage the land owning families in order to have a breakthrough in this matter.
Responding to claims that WARDC has never given a dime to volunteers at the cemetery, Mr. Koroma disclosed that the payment of those volunteers was not in the 2017 budget, adding that they are working with what their annual budget dictates.
He disclosed that there is a World Bank project that involves four councils which include WARDC, Freetown City Council (FCC), Port Loko and Bombali District Councils, noting that plans are underway to adequately maintain and sustain the cemetery under this project.
