The Dutch Caribbean Island of Sint Maarten is facing a situation with its public cemetery. Space is running out for burials.
Egbert Doran, Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure recently revealed during a COM press briefing that the cemetery is faced with a lack of burial space.
“There is no burial space in the ground and most persons who have family members buried in the ground are encouraged to go on top that grave if needed,” he said.
The Minister said there are just over 420 vaults in the Cul-de-Sac public cemetery that are currently in use with the exception of a few that were created for kids.
The government is currently in the process of building a few more but as land is limited and the hillside is extremely steep, the State is limited to the number of vaults it can build.
Minister Doran pointed out that in 2022 there were 258 deaths on island, 241 in 2021, 233 in 2020 and 194 in 2019.
He noted the numbers went up in the last few years as the average between 2010 and 2018 was 174.
With these numbers, the Minister said Sint Maarten forecasts a year-end solution needs to be found.
An immediate solution is being undertaken where the world around the use of urn vaults for loved ones is. This means persons will be cremated and placed inside a vault, a fraction of the size used by a coffin.
The Minister said this is currently being looked at as a viable long-term solution. The government is also in the process of seeking land to accommodate the need that they have for burial space.