Latest news with #unmarkedgraves
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Pacific leaders demand respectful involvement in memorial for unmarked graves
Daniel Chrisp speaks at the Family Forum beside the cemetery chapel, as Mayor Anita Baker and whānau gather to honour 1,800 patients buried in unmarked graves. Photo: Friends of Porirua Cemetery Facebook Porirua City Council is set to create a memorial for more than 1800 former patients of the local hospital buried in unmarked graves. But Pacific leaders are asking to be meaningfully involved in the process, including incorporating prayer, language, and ceremonial practices. More than 50 people gathered at Porirua Cemetery last month after the council's plans became public, many of whom are descendants of those buried without headstones. Photo: Daniel Chrisp, the Cemeteries manager, says it was encouraging to see families engaging with the project. Chrisp's team has placed 99 pegs to mark the graves of families who have come forward so far. One attendee told him that it was deeply moving to photograph the site where two relatives were buried. "It's fantastic that we've got to this point, having the descendants of those in unmarked graves encouraged to be involved," he says. "These plots represent mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children and other relatives, so it's important to a lot of people." The Porirua Lunatic Asylum, which later became Porirua Hospital, operated from 1887 until the 1990s. At its peak in the 1960s, it was one of Aotearoa New Zealand's largest hospitals, housing over 2000 patients and staff. As part of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, the Government has established a national fund for headstones for unmarked graves. Porirua City Council has applied for $200,000 to install a memorial that will list every known name. Some pegs that mark the resting places of former patients buried in unmarked graves. Photo: Porirua Council Some Pacific community leaders say they were never consulted, despite Pacific people among the deceased. Teurukura Tia Kekena, chairperson of the Porirua Cook Islands Association, says this is the first she has heard of the project and is concerned Pacific communities have not been included in conversations so far. "If there was any unmarked grave and the Porirua City Council is aware of the names, I would have thought they would have contacted the ethnic groups these people belonged to," she says. "From a Cook Islands point of view, we need to acknowledge these people. They need to be fully acknowledged." Kekena learned about the project only after being contacted by a reporter, despite the council's ongoing efforts to identify names and place markers for families who have come forward. The council's application for funding is part of its response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry. A photograph shows Porirua Hospital in the early 1900s. Photo/Porirua City Council Photo: Porirua City Council Kekena says it's important how the council manages the memorial, adding that it matters deeply for Cook Islands families and the wider Pacific community, especially those with relatives buried at the site. She believes that a proper memorial should reflect Pacific values, particularly the importance of faith, family, and cultural protocol. "It's huge. It's connecting us to these people," she says. "Just thinking about it is getting me emotional. "Like I said, the Pākehā way of acknowledging is totally different from our way. When we acknowledge, when we go for an unveiling, it's about family. It's about family. It's about family honouring the person that had passed. "And we do it in a way that we have a service at the graveside with the orometua [minister] present. Yeah, unveil the stone by the family, by the immediate family, if there were any here at that time." She also underscores the connection between remembering the deceased and healing intergenerational trauma, particularly given the site's history with mental health. "It helps a lot. It's a way of healing the trauma. I don't know how these people came to be buried in an unmarked grave, but to me, it's like they were just put there and forgotten about. I wouldn't like to have my family buried in a place and be forgotten." Kekena urges the council to work closely with the Cook Islands community moving forward and says she will bring the matter back to her association to raise awareness and check possible connections between local families and the names identified. Yvonne Underhill‑Sem, a Cook Islands community leader and Professor of Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland, says the memorial's emotional significance, noting her personal connection to Whenua Tapu as a Porirua native. "In terms of our Pacific understandings of ancestry, everybody who passes away is still part of our whānau. The fact that we don't know who they are is unsettling," she says. "It would be a real relief to the families involved and to the generations that follow to have those graves named." A Porirua City Council spokesperson says they have been actively sharing the list of names with the public and encourages all communities, including Pacific groups, genealogists, and local iwi, to help spread the word. So far, 99 families have come forward. "We would encourage any networks such as Pacific, genealogists and local iwi to share the list around for members of the public to get in touch," the spokesperson says. The list of names is available on the Council's website and includes both a downloadable file and a searchable online tool here. Moze Galo and Izzy Ford, 19 07 2025 caption: Pacific voices in council - Porirua councillors Izzy Ford and Moze Galo say the memorial must reflect Pacific values. Photo: Porirua Council/RNZ Porirua councillors Izzy Ford and Moze Galo, two of the three Pacific members on the council, say Pacific families must be central to the memorial process. Ford says burial sites carry deep cultural weight for Pacific communities. "We know that burial sites are more than just places of rest, they are sacred spaces that hold our stories, our ancestry and dignity - they are our connection to those who came before us." She says public notices and websites are not enough. "If we are serious about finding the families of those buried in unmarked graves here in Porirua, we have to go beyond public notices and websites." Ford says government funding will be limited, and Council must work with trusted Pacific networks to reach families. "It means partnering with groups who carry trust in our community... Pacific churches, elders, and organisations, communicating in our languages through Pacific radio, social media, community events, churches, and health providers." Galo agrees and says the memorial must reflect Pacific values in both design and feeling. "It should feel warm, colourful, spiritual, and welcoming. Include Pacific designs, carvings, and symbols... there should be room for prayer, music, and quiet reflection," he says. "Being seen and heard brings healing, honour, and helps restore our connection to our ancestors. It reminds our families that we belong, that our history matters, and that our voice is valued in this space." Galo says the work must continue beyond the unveiling. "Community involvement shouldn't stop after the memorial is built, we should have a role in how it's maintained and used in the future. "These were real people, with families, love, and lives that mattered. Some were buried without names, without ceremony, and that left a deep pain. Honouring them now is a step toward healing, and a way of saying, you were never forgotten." Members of the public who recognise a family name on the list are encouraged to get in touch by emailing cemeteries@ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Call for wider consultation on memorial for patients' unmarked graves
Some of the pegs marking the burial places of former patients of Porirua Hospital, buried in unmarked graves at Porirua Cemetery. Photo: Supplied/ Porirua City Council A memorial is being set up to recognise the more than 1800 former patients of Porirua Hospital who were buried in unmarked graves. Porirua City Council is creating the memorial and Pacific leaders want to be meaningfully involved in the process, by incorporating prayer, language and ceremonial practices. More than 50 people gathered at Porirua Cemetery in June, after the council's plans became public, many of whom were descendants of those buried without headstones. Porirua cemeteries manager Daniel Chrisp was encouraged to see families engaging with the project. Daniel Chrisp speaks at a Family Forum held beside the Porirua Cemetery chapel. Photo: Supplied/ Facebook - Friends of Porirua Cemetery Chrisp's team placed 99 pegs to mark the graves of families who had come forward so far and he said one attendee told him it was deeply moving to photograph the site where two relatives were buried. "It's fantastic that we've got to this point, having the descendants of those in unmarked graves encouraged to be involved," Chrisp said. "These plots represent mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children and other relatives, so it's important to a lot of people." The Porirua Lunatic Asylum, which later became Porirua Hospital, operated from 1887 until the 1990s. At its peak in the 1960s, it was one of Aotearoa New Zealand's largest hospitals, housing more than 2000 patients and staff. As part of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, the government established a national fund for headstones for unmarked graves. Porirua City Council applied for $200,000 to install a memorial that would list every known name. However, some Pacific community leaders say they were never consulted, despite Pacific people being among the deceased. Porirua Cook Islands Association chairperson Teurukura Tia Kekena said this was the first she had heard of the project and was concerned Pacific communities had not been included in conversations so far. "If there was any unmarked grave and the Porirua City Council is aware of the names, I would have thought they would have contacted the ethnic groups these people belonged to," she says. "From a Cook Islands point of view, we need to acknowledge these people. They need to be fully acknowledged." Porirua Hospital in the early 1900s. Photo: Supplied / Porirua City Council Kekena learned about the project only after being contacted by a reporter, despite the council's ongoing efforts to identify names and place markers for families who had come forward. The council's application for funding was part of its response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry. Kekena said it was important how the council managed the memorial, adding that it mattered deeply for Cook Islands families and the wider Pacific community, especially those with relatives buried at the site. She believed a proper memorial should reflect Pacific values, particularly the importance of faith, family and cultural protocol. "It's huge," she said. "It's connecting us to these people - just thinking about it is getting me emotional. "Like I said, the Pākehā way of acknowledging is totally different from our way. When we acknowledge, when we go for an unveiling, it's about family. "It's about family. It's about family honouring the person that had passed and we do it in a way that we have a service at the graveside with the orometua [minister] present. "Yeah, unveil the stone by the family, by the immediate family, if there were any here at that time." She also underscored the connection between remembering the deceased and healing intergenerational trauma, particularly given the site's history with mental health. "It helps a lot, it's a way of healing the trauma. I don't know how these people came to be buried in an unmarked grave, but to me, it's like they were just put there and forgotten about. "I wouldn't like to have my family buried in a place and be forgotten." Kekena urged the council to work closely with the Cook Islands community moving forward, and said she would bring the matter back to her association to raise awareness and check possible connections between local families and the names identified. Yvonne Underhill‑Sem, a Cook Islands community leader and professor of Pacific studies at the University of Auckland, said the memorial had emotional significance, noting her personal connection as a Porirua native to Whenua Tapu , another Porirua cemetery. "In terms of our Pacific understandings of ancestry, everybody who passes away is still part of our whānau," she said. "The fact that we don't know who they are is unsettling. "It would be a real relief to the families involved and to the generations that follow to have those graves named." A Porirua City Council spokesperson said they had actively shared the list of names with the public and encouraging all communities, including Pacific groups, genealogists and local iwi, to help spread the word. So far, 99 families had come forward. "We would encourage any networks, such as Pacific, genealogists and local iwi, to share the list around for members of the public to get in touch," the spokesperson said. The list of names is available on the council's website and includes both a downloadable file and a searchable online tool . Porirua City Councillors Izzy Ford and Moze Galo say the memorial must reflect Pacific values. Photo: Supplied/ Porirua City Council - RNZ Porirua City Councillors Izzy Ford and Moze Galo - two of the three Pacific members on the council - said Pacific families must be central to the memorial process. Ford said burial sites carried deep cultural weight for Pacific communities. "We know that burial sites are more than just places of rest,"Ford said. "They are sacred spaces that hold our stories, our ancestry and dignity - they are our connection to those who came before us." Public notices and websites were not enough, she said. "If we are serious about finding the families of those buried in unmarked graves here in Porirua, we have to go beyond public notices and websites." Government funding would be limited and council must work with trusted Pacific networks to reach families, Ford said. "It means partnering with groups who carry trust in our community... Pacific churches, elders and organisations communicating in our languages through Pacific radio, social media, community events, churches and health providers." Galo agreed, and said the memorial must reflect Pacific values in both design and feeling. "It should feel warm, colourful, spiritual and welcoming," he said. "Include Pacific designs, carvings and symbols... there should be room for prayer, music and quiet reflection. "Being seen and heard brings healing, honour, and helps restore our connection to our ancestors. It reminds our families that we belong, that our history matters and that our voice is valued in this space." Galo said the work must continue beyond the unveiling. "Community involvement shouldn't stop after the memorial is built. We should have a role in how it's maintained and used in the future. "These were real people with families, love and lives that mattered. Some were buried without names, without ceremony and that left a deep pain. "Honouring them now is a step toward healing and a way of saying, 'You were never forgotten'." Members of the public who recognise a family name on the list are encouraged to get in touch, by emailing cemeteries@ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
CTV News
23-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
‘You have to honour those that went before you': Manitoba veterans help identify previously unnamed solders
A temporary cross was made to mark the unmarked grave for Canadian veteran William Howard Chester at the Field of Honour inside Transcona Cemetery. Here it can be seen on Monday June 23, 2025. (Joseph Bernacki/CTV News Winnipeg) One Manitoba veteran's unwavering efforts have uncovered the identities of two previously unnamed soldiers buried in Transcona Cemetery. Two years ago, Peter Martin—a local veteran who brings students to the annual No Stone Left Alone ceremony at the Field of Honour—was asked by one of the kids why two graves had no names. 'I was in tears and devastated,' Martin said. 'For over 20 years I've been bringing students here—they haven't honoured those two because nobody knew their names.' William Cabot Lodge cross A temporary cross was also made to mark the unmarked grave of Canadian veteran William Cabot Lodge. Here it is on Monday June 23, 2025. (Joseph Bernacki/CTV News Winnipeg) It's unclear why the graves were left unmarked, but Martin didn't need a reason to take on the mission of identifying the fallen. He took it to heart and, after months of research and phone calls, discovered the names: William Cabot Lodge and William Howard Chester. Lodge died in 2005; Chester passed away 23 years ago. Martin then reached out to fellow veteran Joe Sapischuk, who built temporary crosses for both Lodge and Chester. 'We had to right a wrong that's been here for 20 years,' Sapischuk said. 'You have to honour those that went before you.' For Julius Chester, great-grandson of William Chester, Martin's efforts opened a new chapter in his family's story. 'It's been profound in a way,' he said. 'When they hear things like this, it really does gladden their hearts—and I know that's the case for me personally as well.' Transcona Cemetery Field of Honour A look at the 'Lest We Forget' monument inside the Transcona Cemetery on Monday June 23, 2025. (Harrison Shin/CTV News Winnipeg) The Last Post Fund, a national organization that helps military families connect with unmarked graves, is working to provide permanent markers for Lodge and Chester. Matt Halpin, president of the Manitoba branch of the Last Post Fund, said the organization has helped establish about 8,000 headstones for unmarked military graves so far. - With files from CTV's Joseph Bernacki
CBS News
08-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Heads, torsos of executed 1940s war prisoners dug up in city park in Greece
Another series of unmarked graves — this one containing 14 individuals from Greece's civil war era — have been dug up in a park in a suburb near the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, local officials said Saturday. As in the previous tight cluster of unmarked burial pits excavated earlier this year in Neapolis-Sykies, the bodies belong to prisoners who were held in a nearby Byzantine fortress. The prisoners, alleged communists and sympathizers, were executed between 1946 and 1953, according to historians. The Yedi Kule castle, also known by its Greek name Eptapyrgio ("Seven Towers") was a prison where communist sympathizers were tortured and executed during Greece's 1946-49 Civil War and immediately afterward. The new burial pits were uncovered on the site of a municipal park undergoing renovation, including the installation of new benches. The graves were not far beneath the surface, Haris Charismiadis, the supervising engineer of the park project, told The Associated Press. Supervising engineer Haris Charismiadis stands next to human remains believed to belong to prisoners executed during or after Greece's 1946-49 Civil War in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Saturday, June 7, 2025. Giannis Papanikos / AP The renovation project is not currently a priority for local mayor Simos Daniilidis. "We insisted on continuing the digging for the graves," he said. Charismiadis, who said most of the current batch of bodies were found during the past week, is certain there are more people buried nearby, including, probably, under the tarmac of streets adjacent to the park. An archaeologist is assisting in the digging. In contrast with the 33 bodies found earlier this year, which were lying side by side, the recently found bodies are jumbled, as if thrown randomly, and hastily, in a heap. Torsos and heads are separated. Previously, Charismiadis said teams had uncovered execution victims with "many bullets in the heads, the skulls." Items found with the bodies — a woman's shoe, a handbag, a ring — offer glimpses into the lives cut short. When Yedi Kule prisoners were executed, their families were often not notified and they didn't get to retrieve their bodies. Some found out about the fate of their loved ones from newspapers — one family happened upon the news while on the bus they had taken to the prison to bring their relative a fresh change of clothes. The grisly find included the discovery of footwear, including the remnants of a woman's shoe. Sykies municipality Relatives of the executed have clamored for DNA tests to be done to ascertain the identity of the found bodies. Testing has not begun yet. Tens of thousands died in the early Cold War-era battles between Western-backed government forces and left-wing insurgents, a brutal conflict with assassination squads, child abductions and mass displacements. CBS News journalist George Polk, who had depicted the right-wing Greek government as corrupt, was among those killed during the war. In a statement earlier this year, the city said efforts to find other mass graves would continue "so that all the skeletons of the people who lost their lives in this way during the dark years of the Civil War and were not given the honors traditionally attributed to the dead are found."
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
More bodies of executed civil war-era prisoners uncovered under Greek city park
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Another series of unmarked graves — this one containing 14 individuals from Greece's civil war era — have been dug up in a park in a suburb near the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, local officials said Saturday. As in the previous tight cluster of unmarked burial pits excavated earlier this year in Neapolis-Sykies, the bodies belong to prisoners who were held in a nearby Byzantine fortress. The prisoners, alleged communists and sympathizers, were executed between 1946 and 1953, according to historians. The Yedi Kule castle, also known by its Greek name Eptapyrgio ('seven towers') was a prison where communist sympathizers were tortured and executed during Greece's 1946-49 Civil War and immediately afterward. The burial pits were uncovered on the site of a municipal park undergoing renovation, including the installation of new benches. The graves were not far beneath the surface, Haris Charismiadis, the supervising engineer of the park project, told The Associated Press. The renovation project is not currently a priority for local mayor Simos Daniilidis. 'We insisted on continuing the digging for the graves,' he said. Charismiadis, who said most of the current batch of bodies were found during the past week, is certain there are more people buried nearby, including, probably, under the tarmac of streets adjacent to the park. An archaeologist is assisting in the digging. In contrast with the 33 bodies found earlier this year, which were lying side by side, the recently found bodies are jumbled, as if thrown randomly, and hastily, in a heap. Torsos and heads are separated. When Yedi Kule prisoners were executed, their families were often not notified and they didn't get to retrieve their bodies. Some found out about the fate of their loved ones from newspapers — one family happened upon the news while on the bus they had taken to the prison to bring their relative a fresh change of clothes. Relatives of the executed have clamored for DNA tests to be done to ascertain the identity of the found bodies. Testing has not begun yet.
