Deadly Accidents Put Town on Edge: Residents Seek Prevention Measures
In recent years, the issue of cemetery space shortages has become a pressing concern for various communities around the world. This article explores the measures taken by several locations to address this challenge, and the misconception that towns or villages have officially "banned dying" due to lack of space in cemeteries.
In 2008, the quaint French town of Sarpourenx made headlines for a unique rule: only residents who own a grave plot are permitted to die within the village. However, it's important to note that this rule does not constitute an official ban on dying due to cemetery space issues. Similarly, the southern Italian village of Sellia, as reported by "The Guardian" in 2015, banned getting sick or dying to combat population decline, but this too was not a formal law prohibiting death.
Lanjarón, a Spanish town, faces a similar predicament, with only one cemetery at its disposal. Despite ongoing efforts to find a new cemetery location, these efforts have yet to bear fruit.
Cemetery space shortages have led to creative solutions in other parts of the world. For instance, Highgate Cemetery in London will begin disturbing and reusing old graves for new burials starting in 2022. In Gaza, burial grounds have reached full capacity, causing an urgent call for help. Some communities, like Monroe in the US, have relocated graves to accommodate urban development, highlighting the pressures on cemetery space.
Projections suggest that the US could face a significant cemetery space shortage by 2071, raising broader concerns about future burial practices and land availability. Despite these challenges, it's worth noting that there is no record of any official municipal or governmental authority enacting a law that outright bans dying or prohibits death due to lack of space in cemeteries.
Measures to manage cemetery space are generally pragmatic, involving cemetery space management, grave reuse, and alternative burial practices rather than prohibitions on death itself.
Unfortunately, other tragic events have marred the headlines this week. A tragic birthday holiday ended with the deaths of two friends after a candle was lit. Moreover, in Lanjarón, a fire in holiday accommodation resulted in three deaths and several people missing.
In a positive development, more than 160 sexually exploited women were freed in a recent operation, marking a significant blow against forced prostitution.
[1] The Guardian. (2015, October 28). Sellia, Italy: The village that bans getting sick or dying. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/28/sellia-italy-village-bans-getting-sick-or-dying
[2] Middle East Monitor. (2019, May 14). Gaza's cemeteries are full, and the dead are being buried in the streets. Retrieved from https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190514-gazas-cemeteries-are-full-and-the-dead-are-being-buried-in-the-streets/
[3] National Geographic. (2019, July 1). The race to find a new cemetery in Lanjarón, Spain. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/europe/spain/lanjaron-cemetery-shortage-spain/
[4] Cremation Association of North America. (2017). Cremation in the United States: An annual report on cremation statistics. Retrieved from https://www.cremationassociation.org/resources/statistics/
[5] National Funeral Directors Association. (2017). Cemetery and Memorial Park Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.nfda.org/news/statistics/cemetery-and-memorial-park-statistics/
Science and health-and-wellness can be intertwined in discussing creative solutions to tackle cemetery space shortages, as seen in the practice of grave reuse in Highgate Cemetery in London, which will begin in 2022. This approach, along with other pragmatic measures like cemetery space management and alternative burial practices, are being explored to address this global concern, emphasizing the importance of innovation in health-and-wellness and social science research.
