Wall of sadness

She claims the metro promised to fix the badly damaged wall by October 2013, but nothing has happened yet.

When she recently stopped to put flowers at her late husband’s plaque, on the Wall of Remembrance, she was horrified by the vandalism that had taken place.

Her husband died almost 20 years ago.

The extent of the damage done to the wall reduced her to tears and she refers to it as the ”Wall of Sadness”.

She says some of the plaques which are cemented to the wall have been ripped off, exposing the urns.

“Even the steel plates between each urn have been taken,” she says.

There is litter scattered all over the area, as well as in and around the building on the premises.

In an article titled ”A disrespectful sight” (Springs Advertiser, September 2, 2013), the metro said the deterioration of the cemetery was due to vandalism.

Former metro spokesman Sam Modiba was quoted as saying that this is an ”inactive cemetery”.

“Whether it is an inactive cemetery or not, it is the final resting place of loved ones and it should be maintained by the metro,” Sandra says, visibly upset.

Even the boxes containing the ashes are missing, and she claims these are being used by vagrants to make fire.

While visiting the cemetery on Wednesday, Sandra noticed a slight improvement to the area, as all the litter had been removed.

However, she would like to know if the metro will consider repairing the broken plaques which are scattered on the grass.

In the meantime, she has removed her husband’s ashes and his plaque, but will still visit the Wall of Remembrance as the ashes of other family members are still there.

“For how long, I do not know,” she says.

At the time of going to print, no comment had been received from the metro.