Of course, the drive there left something to be desired .. Friday traffic was insane. It took us about an hour to get there. Entering the cemetery, almost seemed like we were entering a little village of sorts. Maybe a better description might be like a park. There were quite a few little shanty's and make shift tents, little store fronts, with people selling candles, flowers, pop and other confections. I asked if we were in the cemetery, and Felvir confirmed that we were. There were hundreds of mausoleums, different styles, shapes, sizes, some looking like from a wealthy family, and others that were run down. Some of the rundown ones were occupied.... along with the deceased, the living as well. There were dogs that were tied up to some of the gravestones, that are unleashed at night to keep perpetrators from attempting to steal from the wealthy mausoleums. Felvir said that people try to steal whatever brass or metal they can.
There were children playing on the road path, or wherever there was a space. I couldn't believe that people lived there. Felvir said living there was more safe for them than living in the poorer places in Manila. My heart just hurt for these people and especially these children. I asked about education. I was told every child can attend school, no charge, but they had to pay for their school books and supplies. I asked about personal hygiene and he said there were a couple of public washrooms in the cemetery, (I only saw one) and that was where they went to wash up and stuff.
So, we made way through the tiny military section of about 250-300 graves. Larry and I took one section and Felvir and Sister Ibinez took the other section. We were comparing the dates on the sheets we had, took pictures, cleaned off the headstones that we could, to attempt to obtain the proper rank, dates and names.
Some of the headstones had been worn down from the elements. Rain definitely took it's tole on some of the grave markers. And many were engraved, white on white, which really made it difficult to read. I had some baby wipes and we did what we could to clean some of them off. On some of the graves, someone took a felt pen to try and write the names. Most were pretty good but there were some that were not correct. We had umbrellas to keep the sun off of us, but they came in handy when taking pictures, because the pictures turned out better when shaded.
I was certainly not dressed for the trip and the humidity was intense, and beads of sweat was running into my eyes and they felt like they were burning. I was thankful for the umbrella to protect us from the sun.
After we finished, we paid the caretaker of the cemetery. He was so grateful for the money. There were a couple of little girls by the car and we were instructed not to give them any money. My heart again, hurt.
Driving out of the cemetery, there was a large building of sorts. It looked like a condominium but it was on a much smaller scale which was being built to house more graves/coffins.
Needless to say, the experience today has certainly been an eye opener. I was told that during my mission, we will be attending other cemeteries, including the US Military one here. Felvir said he was going to get permission to go back to the North Cemetery and work on the sections for the Policeman and Fireman. I also have a deeper appreciation for those who go around the world, taking pictures for Billiongraves.com and FindaGrave.com.
We have our stresses back home, but I can't imagine the stress and worry mothers and fathers must have in this country to work and provide for their children and to see they have an education. They are the hardest working people and the don't take anything for granted, especially to live in a cemetery.
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