By Erica James-King, Staff Reporter
Pastor of the Tangle River Baptist Church, Reverend Rose Cameron (right), assists the oldest member of the church, 89-year-old Lucille Kerr, to cross some of the huge cracks in the church, which have been caused by a landslide which resulted from rains from Hurricane Ivan.
- HERBERT MCKENIS/Freelance Photographer
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE ST. James Health Department estimates that it will cost about $240,000 to exhume and relocate bodies in graves that shifted and broke open in Tangle River in the parish. This was due to landslides triggered by Hurricane Ivan. The health department has set this weekend as the deadline for the relocation of the bodies.
"So far the families have identified an area in the community where the graves should be relocated, and they have formally applied to the Parish Council for exhumation and relocation," said Desmond Clarke, chief public health inspector for St. James. But a lack of the required financing is currently holding up the relocation process.
PARISH COUNCIL SEEKING FUNDS
Mr. Clarke told The Gleaner that the health department, in collaboration with the St. James Parish Council, is seeking to identify funding for the relocation exercise. He said the two public sector entities have to pick up the slack since the affected families do not have the required financing at this time.
"The four graves need to be relocated as a matter of urgency to stave off the serious health threats to the community, but it will cost at least $60,000 to relocate each grave and the families have indicated that they cannot afford it," explained Mr. Clarke.
So far, the Parish Council has agreed to waive the $5,000 exhumation fee for each grave. In the meantime, Mr. Clarke is insisting that the exhumation and the relocation of the bodies are mandatory moves in safeguarding the well-being of the community.
He pointed to the fact that the open graves may contaminate the Tangle River that lies at a gradient below the graves, or pollute the underground water supply. "The open graves could cause waterborne or diarrhoeal diseases for persons who drink the river water," warned Mr. Clarke.
HAVEN FOR INSECTS AND RODENTS
They may also become a haven for flying and crawling insects and rodents, which in turn can contaminate food.
Fabian Stennett, a resident of the Tangle River community whose grandmother's grave was one of the four that burst open in the land slippage, said that the community is willing to assist in the relocation process by giving manual labour, where possible.
The landslide caused a section of the Tangle River road to collapse, covering a house, and plunging two other houses some 100 metres from their original position. It also shifted and shattered the Tangle River Baptist church.
In the meantime, the Transport Ministry is insisting that before the main road can be restored, a detailed study will have to be done into the topography of Tangle River to determine the best way forward for the community.
