Building an ecological cemetery park and crematorium: An urgent matter for Nghe An

It is a normal thing according to the law of birth, aging, sickness and death. When "each person lives differently, each person dies differently", the concept of funeral is also different.

There are many burial customs in the world: water burial (thrown into a river, into the sea), earth burial (buried in the ground), cremation (burned with wood, with electricity), wind burial (hung in the air), bird burial (released to birds),... Since ancient times, the common method of Vietnamese people is earth burial. There are also places where the body is buried deep and flat at once, and there are places where the body is buried in a state of mourning, after a few years the bones are exhumed and then buried.

The reality of the dead outnumbering the living, many "ghost castles"

In the countryside of the whole country, before the 80s, everywhere was "My village used to be full of thatched houses with mud walls/ cemeteries without a single built grave" (Nguyen Duy). Over time, weathering, many graves were neglected for care, "the earth was rustling" and then "blended into nature".

Nowadays, the economy is developing, some people are already worried about death: buying land, building walls. Some people take advantage of garden land, forest land, arbitrarily turning it into cemeteries, graveyards, regardless of planning. Many graves - including those of living people - have been built. Some houses are built, but after a while they are demolished to be rebuilt "to be equal to others", with sparkling lights, majestic, "grandiose" worth hundreds of millions, sometimes even billions of dong. Cheap construction materials, good bricks, lots of cement,... they become eternal structures.

There have been several times of planning for rural and urban areas, but at the current rate, "the dead are increasingly competing for the living". Will it come to a difficult time for future generations?

The demand for cremation is increasing.

Cremationis a form that both ensures hygiene and saves land. For a long time, many people have had the need to be cremated after death. Changing the perception of spirituality and beliefs is not simple. This is a good sign, a progress of society.

Unfortunately, because we do not have cremation facilities, when a loved one passes away, many people have to rely on acquaintances to take the body to Thanh Hoa or Ha Tinh. The long distance, different from the administrative area, causes many difficulties, hardships, and costs for the relatives of the deceased. Many people have the need for cremation but are still confused so they have to give up.

Nghe An needs to soon have cremation service facilities

(Baonghean.vn) - Because Nghe An does not have a crematorium, for a long time people in the province still have to go to Ha Tinh or Thanh Hoa... That leads to many inconveniences because the roads are long and the procedures are sometimes cumbersome.

Looking out into the world

As the global population continues to grow, space to bury the dead in their final resting place is becoming a luxury. In some major cities in the United States as well as in other countries around the world, cemetery space is in serious shortage.

Many countries are transforming burial rituals, changing the way cemeteries operate, and even destroying historic cemeteries to reclaim land for the living. Beginning in 1990, in Japan, a voluntary social organization openly advocated cremation and scattering of the ashes. Since 1999, a shrine in northern Japan has offered a more creative solution to the cemetery land shortage crisis: “tree burial.” In this burial, families place the ashes of the deceased in the ground and plant a tree on top of the ashes to mark the gravesite.

In 2015, we were fortunate to attend a course in the 67 program of the Central Organizing Committee held at Nayang University - Singapore. At the end of the course, the school took us on a tour of many agencies, projects, famous places and landscapes of their country, after which there was a free exchange and discussion. If the students had any questions, the lecturer would answer them right in class.

The country is rich, the standard of living is very high but there are no "majestic" cemeteries like in our country. We asked about customs, burial regulations, land management, etc.? It is known that the "Lion Island" is narrow, with an area of ​​only over 700 square kilometers, but the population is over 5.5 million people. Yet they still have quite large unused lands. About 95% of Singaporeans are cremated after death. The government has forced the demolition of family graves and replaced them with crematoriums. Land for graves in cities is also only valid for 15 years, after which the remains are cremated and the space is left for the next person.

Building an ecological cemetery park and crematorium: A necessary and urgent matter for Nghe An

Not with the mindset that we must have everything that others have! Nghe An is a province with a large area and a population of over 3.4 million people. It is known that the province is focusing on removing obstacles and speeding up the implementation of the project to build an ecological cemetery park and crematorium. This is a very practical and urgent task, meaningful for both the present and the future, both solving difficulties for Vinh city, neighboring populous districts and the whole province in general, in order to meet the needs of the people, it needs to be focused on directing and consensus to become a reality.

Nghe An: Urging progress of the project of an eternal ecological cemetery to serve people's needs

(Baonghean.vn) - As a province with the 4th largest population in the country (over 3.4 million people), facing difficulties, shortcomings and practical needs, Nghe An is focusing on removing obstacles and speeding up the implementation of the project to build an ecological cemetery park...