MONROVIA, Montserrado – On Decoration Day, relatives of the dead were upset to see graves at the Palm Grove Cemetery desecrated by criminals.

Philip Rambo, alias General Rambo, woke up early Wednesday morning from his Old Road residence to visit the Palm Grove Cemetery on Center Street in Monrovia. He carried two cups of paint and several other decoration materials for use in decorating his late mother’s grave and five other relatives.

When Rambo arrived at the grave site, he realized that his deceased mother’s grave and dozens of others had been damaged, with bones scattered across the cemetery.

Desecrated graves at the Palm Grove Cemetery. Photo Credit: Stephen Kollie

This was the story of the day at the Palm Grove Cemetery on Decoration Day, a national holiday on the second Wednesday of March every year. On this day, relatives visit their loved ones’ graves to honor and remember them by decorating the graves.

For Rambo, coming to the grave site and seeing his dead relatives’ graves in a deplorable condition was upsetting. He explained to The Bush Chicken that he would not return to the cemetery because there was no longer a grave to decorate.

Rambo claims that young Liberians are being recruited to break into graves and steal the remains for financial gain. The Bush Chicken has not verified those claims.

Rambo said, “People convince [the youth], and they come here. The business is in thousands. People are doing business with [human bones] because we learned they grind it, make it out of dust and put chemical on it, they inhale it and do so many things.”

A cracked tomb at the Palm Grove Cemetery. Photo Credit: Stephen Kollie

Another cracked tomb at the Palm Grove Cemetery. Photo Credit: Stephen Kollie

The Liberian government erected a high concrete wall to protect the Palm Grove Cemetery. This was done to prevent criminals from entering, after several complaints from the public about damaged graves. Intruders have since managed to break several parts of the wall, which they use as an entry point to penetrate the cemetery.

Rambo continued, “It makes no sense! [People] in Europe know what [a] graveyard is. [The] graveyard is a place for the dead. [Since relatives] come and visit, it must always be decent.”

Josephine Cooper, age 28, came on the eve of Decoration Day to renovate her late mother’s grave. She said she was used to the situation of the desecrated graves now as the practice is not a new phenomenon to her.

She carefully painted her late mother’s grave even though she was not sure if next year’s Decoration Day would see it in the same condition.

“I am very mad about this day because of the way they [destroyed] all the graves,” she lamented.

For 33-year-old Ether Gibson, an Ebola survivor who lost five of her family members to the deadly virus, there was nothing to do except to thank God for saving her life. Her relatives’ remains were all cremated during the outbreak, and she has no money to go to the Global Communities burial site where their cremated remains are buried.

“I just want to thank God for making me to see this day. Though I may not be able to see my people’s graves, I will remember them in my heart for the rest of my life,” she told The Bush Chicken.