Graves

Death
Remembering
Broken bottle
Jesus on the cross
Don't worry
AIDS klok
Synagogue
Oranjetuin
In Oranjetuin
Skull and bones
Oranjetuin
Brotherly
Slave monument
Cremation
Ready to burn
Former police station

Some people, strangely, think, after seeing my pictures, that I have some obscure fascination with cemeteries. This is correct. I think this started when I was living in Hungary. The main cemetery there has some very impressive monuments and mausoleums. Since seeing those, whenever I get the chance, I can't resist to check out a local cemetery.

Oranjetuin

Paramaribo has a number of cemeteries, but the most interesting one is Oranjetuin. Dating from the middle of the 18th century, it was filled up quite a while ago. Now and then, the Dutch government invests some money for restoring the area but all that ever happens is some removal of weeds. Year after year, the site decays a little more.

Synagogue

Around Paramaribo's big synagogue a lot of large stone slabs are neatly ordered. Grave stones from an old cemetery that had to make room for modernization.

One grave

As almost everywhere else, it is forbidden to use your own backyard as a cemetery. However, if you know the right people, you can get everything done in this country so, occasionally, you'll come across a neighbor who's buried his grandfather in his own garden.

St Laurent du Maroni

St Laurent's cemetery, in French Guyana, is a large collection of mostly wooden crosses. The site itself is quite big, but most of the area is not used, grass as tall as I am, was covering most of the area, the occasional tilted cross breaking the green waves.

Iracoubo

Since French Guyana has been French for quite a while, people from this country fought in both world wars. And since the French are proud of their war history, most towns in French Guyana have a monument to the fallen heroes.

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