We are living in a generation that is full of careless and ignorant people who no longer value their culture and beliefs. Back then, people had so much respect for the dead that no one would play or think of doing anything bad at the graveyard. This was because we used to believe that the dead could see you and curse you. But nowadays, things have changed; people no longer have respect for the dead. Just a few weeks ago, we saw a story about people who were stealing headstones from graveyards.
Just when we thought we had seen it all, there is another trending story about people who are turning graves into their homes. According to the reports, homeless people in Tembisa are sleeping in the graveyard. They look for graves that have those big head stones that look like houses and turn them into their sleeping areas. In the trending video that was taken at the Tembisa graveyard, one grave that has a sheltered head stone could be seen covered with curtains so that they can sleep inside like it’s a house.
All over the ground yards, there is trash like food and plastics to show that this person has just turned the graveyard into a living home. People are being warned that if they have a grave at the Tembisa graveyard, they should check in because they are being invaded. When we were growing up, elders used to tell us that if a person was on a grave, it was taboo, but look at today’s people; they even sleep on them.
This graveyard falls under Ekurhuleni. EFF is the one that is responsible for them, but they seem to be turning a blind eye to all this, although it is trending on social media. My advice is that all those whose families have graves here must go and check on their graves.