Living among open graves, rusty iron and broken gravestones: the drama of the homeless in Caracas

In 1876, the General Cemetery of the South was inaugurated in Caracas. A huge land that has become over the decades one of the most important cemeteries in Venezuela. So much so that it was declared a historical monument of this country in 1982.

Today there is little or really nothing left of this necropolis which large mausoleums like that of the Crespo family, where the remains of General Joaquín Crespo lay, President of Venezuela (1884-1886 and 1892-1898), his wife Jacinta de Crespo and some of their children and their direct descendants, now in ruins. It is difficult to walk through the rubble where two destroyed wooden sarcophagi with glass walls stand out, where Crespo and his wife have rested.

Several years ago, the desecration of graves began with criminal groups stealing what little they find in coffins and even the dead themselves. But that’s only part of the abandonment problem the graveyard is in.

In addition to the graves turned into graves, there are families who have lived there for years. Children and teens who grew up with the dead, like Winifer, 17, who along with Jackson, 19, and her five-month-old daughter, live in a makeshift hut next to a grave.

“I have lived most of my life in the cemetery.”the young woman told AFP news agency, which visited the cemetery.

Affairs with the dead at the South General Cemetery

In 2016, it was announced that the tomb of former Venezuelan President Rómulo Gallegos, located in the South General Cemetery, was desecrated by certain subjects called “paleros”, this is what the locals call those who live by digging up the dead.

This was just the start of an unclear burglary business. Witnesses say that many of these “paleos” seek out valuables such as necklaces, rings or other gold jewelry with which the deceased could be buried. While others claim it is witchcraft, they sell the bones for rituals.

“This damage is caused by criminals who desecrate the graves, especially the oldest ones, with the belief that the deceased were buried with gold chains given to them during their baptisms, with teeth of the same material. or any other jewelry they can sell. . “, said a cemetery worker at the Venezuelan portal El Estímulo.

The truth is that the work of looting the graves puts the cemetery in deplorable conditions. The religious images that decorated the place like works of art were destroyed, as were the majestic historic mausoleums and marble plaques that adorned the graves of wealthy families.

Another worker told the Witchcraft Information Portal that, “These people take care of their customers in this cemetery, they read tobacco, make moorings, install works of witchcraft, for which they use human skeletons. The authorities know these practices, they know the people in charge, but they do nothing, perhaps for fear of casting a death on him or of casting a spell on him, you do not know ”.

With the massive desecration of the graves, the dead being exposed and their bones strewn on the ground, several families decided to make this other business: protect them. This is what Jackson, who has lived with his partner for years in the cemetery, told AFP.

While in other graves “They bring out the dead, they even steal pottery”, justifies Jackson, “we are here and for sure (…) We take care of our business, we take care of our grave”, commented.

Luis, 41, who lives in a space similar to that of Winifer and Jackson, also joins this work. According to the news agency, the man says he takes care of 37 graves, including the one he occupies with his family.

“I have all my graves marked”he explained. “We take care of his grave, it is kept swept, washed, mopped and family members on Sundays present you with two or three products” of food.

On the other hand, while some relatives of the dead accept this exchange to avoid looting by the “paleros”, others complain that entire families live on the graves of their relatives.

A woman named Maritza complains to Jackson when she sees cooking utensils at the grave of a nephew killed by police. “I have a kitchen here, what is it?” They must respect, these deaths still hurt one ”, complained the Venezuelan during the conversation with AFP.

The visit to the cemetery has become famous even on YouTube where journalists or simply curious people have posted videos relating what is happening in this place. They show in these images how there are bones strewn everywhere, shootings and visitors fearfully repairing the graves of their loved ones and quickly leaving the scene.

The general cemetery of the south It has become a place that for decades was the rest for those who leave this world to be today the portrait of the misery that is experienced in Venezuela., where neither the dead nor the living can be at peace.

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