FOR six years Ackeem Lewis has been trying to find the final resting place of his beloved great-grandmother Dolareen Grey.

According to Lewis, he and members of his family have walked the undefined, bushy pathways inside May Pen Cemetery to locate the grave. But their tireless search has left them frustrated and seething at the negligence of the cemetery operators entrusted with preserving her memory.

“A long time we a look for her; we walk the whole a back that side till we tired. Around there is very big. If you go look back there and you’re not careful, you get lost or wrap up inna bush,” he said, pointing to the back of the cemetery that is mostly covered in heavy foliage, with tombstones barely visible.

May Pen Cemetery, established in the 16th century, is one of the oldest and largest burial sites in the Caribbean. It is located between Horizon Adult Remand Centre on Spanish Town Road and Tivoli Gardens High School on Industrial Terrace in west Kingston, spanning more than 200 acres.

Once regarded as the premier cemetery in the country, May Pen is where many Jamaicans of note are interred. However, a lack of adequate maintenance over many years has left it in a deplorable state.

On a visit to the cemetery on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 the
Jamaica Observer noticed graves mere metres apart, some covered by overgrown bush and dirt that made it extremely difficult to read the headstones. Stray animals were also seen walking the grounds, and small patches of garbage littered the cemetery.

“The place bush up, and most of the times dem all bury grave on top of grave; that nuh right. That’s why most people can’t find their family,” said Lewis.

“I feel hurt because we spent our money bury her and now we can’t find her,” he said in reference to his great-grandmother.

Lewis shared that the first time his family came to locate the grave they tried to rely on memory. However, he said after much difficulty they were unsuccessful and tried to seek assistance from cemetery workers.

“Dem say she bury somewhere back there,” he said pointing to a section of the cemetery. “But we can’t find her.”

“A nuff time we want to go wipe off her grave and clean it up. You know people normally do those things on birthday, but we can’t do it,” said Lewis.

When asked if he had given up hope he said that he and most of his family members have grown frustrated and believe they will never be able to locate the grave.

“If we a try so long to find her and can’t, a now we a go find her?” he asked.

“When they bury [people], they need to have the file here that says them bury on that day, with them name and location recorded,” he recommended.

“When you come, you should be able to just come to the front and say ‘Tom Jones’, and they tell you take the left or take the right, and when you go two blocks from there you will see a green grave and his grave is beside it. A so dem fi do it fi make it a little easier, because over here big,” he said, pointing to the thousands of graves that span more than 130 acres of land.

“Dem can do better. Dem just slack and lazy. A dem choose fi nuh do better,” he charged, his annoyance evident.

Over the years there have been several news articles bringing light to the deplorable state of May Pen Cemetery, with workers, residents from neighbouring communities, and family members of the deceased begging for a change in how the burial ground is kept.

Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie, during a 2016 tour of the public cemetery which falls under the responsibility of Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation, announced plans to renovate the cemetery, restoring graves that had been vandalised. However, work has not yet started.