By Hassan Ibrahim Conteh
A project by the charity Concern World Wide has offered a rare opportunity for Sierra Leoneans to identify the final resting place of their loved ones who died of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
At the height of the epidemic, changes in the burial policy meant that all burials were done by specialized burial teams. The move was meant to end transmission of the deadly virus through contact with the dead.
It is a common traditional practice for Africans to perform rituals and prayers for the departed souls. However, these cultural practices were curtailed amidst experts report that they were fueling the spread of the disease.
Family members were not allowed to go where the burial was being done, which meant that over 15, 000 people were buried without their family knowing the exact spot of their graves.
Some 3, 955 people in total died of the virus in Sierra Leone between May 2014 and November 2015 when the transmission was officially declared over by the World Health Organization.
In September 2014, the United States Centers for Disease Control, in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOH) assessed burial practices and adherence to practices recommended with the goal of reducing the risk of Ebola Virus transmission.
A community assessment was also conducted on the acceptability of the people of the safe, non-traditional burial practices and cemetery management.
Concern is a UK-based charity working towards ending poverty.
Like many foreign aid agencies, it was at the center of the fight against the Ebola epidemic and was specifically involved with the Safe and Dignified Burial arm of the Ebola response.
Two cemeteries were specifically created for Ebola dead across the country: one in Kenema in the east, and Bolima in Waterloo, some 30km from the capital city.
Bolima was a response to the congestion at the Kingtom Cemetery.
Elsewhere in the country parts of existing cemeteries were cleared to accommodate Ebola dead bodies, like Kingtom in Freetown.
Concern is exclusively responsible for Waterloo and Kingtom cemeteries.
According to Ibrahim Kamara, Data Collector and Registrar for Concern’s Safe and Dignified Burial Management team attached to the Kingtom Cemetery, 5, 730 bodies were buried there. Kamara said 9, 985 bodies were buried at Bolima cemetery.
He added that these figures were recorded from October 19, 2014. That was when Concern took charge of what was later known as ‘Safe and Dignified Burial. He said because of this the grave identification initiative covers burials carried out from October 19 2014 upwards.
Kamara also said before Concern assumed control of Kingtom, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation had recorded 665 graves.
This means a total of 6, 395 Ebola bodies were officially buried at Kingtom.
Family visitation
At some point of the outbreak, wrong public perceptions around the handling of bodies forced several reviews of the burial policy, so that later family members and religious leaders were allowed to pay last respect to the dead before the corpses were taken for burial.
But even then people were not allowed to go to the cemetery.
“This way many people never know where their loved ones were buried,” said Alpha Jalloh, Administrative Manager of Ebola Response at Concern Worldwide.
Jalloh told Politico that this initiative was designed to bring the bereaved family members closer to the cemeteries so that they can perform prayers and other burial rites.
Kingtom cemetery is divided into two parts. The old cemetery, which was used before the outbreak, is distinct from the well preserved Ebola cemetery. At the Ebola cemetery each grave is marked and bears the name and date of death of the individual.
Kamara’s responsibility is to guide family members who visit to identify the grave of their loved ones, in addition to collecting statistics in relation to the operation.
Mr Jalloh, the Concern Ebola Response Administrative Manager, said contrary the impression of many people about how the cemeteries were kept, they had made sure that identification of graves by family members was done with ease.
Plotting numbers are clearly inscribed on the tombs for easy identification.
“These plot numbers are like admission numbers to help family members to identify the graves of their loved ones easily,” he explained to this report at the Kingtom Cemetery.
“Before coming here I thought I would find it very difficult to identify the grave of my late mother-in-law, but I didn’t even take an hour to see it,” a visitor who took advantage of the initiative told Politico at the Kingtom Cemetery.
As a way of encouraging the visitation to the cemetery, Concern is facilitating transportation for people in remote part of Freetown.
“We’ve the same service at the Waterloo Cemetery and we provide ‘PodaPoda’ [commercial transport] for people to facilitate visit to the grave yards,” Fiona McLysaght, Country Director of Concern World Wide, told Politico.
(C) Politico 28/01/16
