Mass graves – a thing of the past?
Think again.
Unknown to many, mass graves are still in use today.
New York City is a prime example, illustrated more poignantly with the current Coronavirus crises.
With the sheer magnitude of people in such a small geographical area, what is to be done when large numbers of its metropolis pass away?
Hart Island, located near the Bronx, has been a burial site, dating back to use even around Civil War time. Many of those buried there are due to being unclaimed bodies – the families either were unaware of their loved one’s passing or could not afford to bury them. Individuals with infectious diseases such as AIDS or typhoid have also been buried on the island in hopes of preventing further disease transmission.
With the high number of fatalities during the Coronavirus pandemic, Hart Island has understandably needed to be used more frequently as a burying site.
Prior to Covid-19, mass burials only occurred there about twice a week. Now, mass burials are occurring with repeated consistency.
Interestingly, there are times where a family member or close friend will facilitate a disinterment of a loved one placed there, providing for a burial in a different burial site. There is a lot of paperwork involved, but this has occurred in several cases.
One side note, for those who say that this pandemic is a made-up hoax, they need only ask those who work on Hart Island or any similar location. Those who see the fall-out of a pandemic, see the sheer numbers of those affected, have no doubts of the existence of a very serious disease and of its influence.
For further reading, see the following: Link (excellent article, including photos of Hart Island) and link.
Information for this post was obtained from The Washington Post “Mass-Grave Burials on Hart Island in New York Rise FiveFold” (2020, April 16) by Jada Yuan. Link