Pierhead burial site’s final cry

Guest Column by
Claudette Levi-Farnum

I recently hustled into Bridgetown to visit Cavans Lane, where the proposed Pierhead Development Project is slated to commence. There are now poles erected, signalling the preparatory start of that work.

My grave concern is due to a deep sense of uncertainty related to the grave pits, which are known to be present in that area.  I previously wrote an article in the Nation, highlighting this information for the benefit of Barbadians at large. With the project in view, there was a town hall meeting held at the Bethel Methodist Church but unfortunately, I was unable to attend.  The town hall meeting was intended to ventilate the details of the issue.

However, for background reference, it should be noted that in 1996 during some excavations, these grave pits and the human remains entombed there were discovered. Since then, there has been no plaque or any other signage that would bring attention to what we were walking over and parking on daily. I am therefore very concerned that those ancestral remains might not be confined to only that small area but could possibly be found in the larger car park area. If additional remains are found, I wonder if any plans have been put in place to handle the possible discovery. In an article, “Pierhead work starts today,” published in the Sunday Sun of September 17, 2023, while mention was made of the intention to preserve the Blackwoods Screw Dock, nothing was said about the graves of our ancestors. These people who were stolen away from their countries, brought here, and who walked the streets of Bridgetown, could be the forebears of any of us.

As stated at the meeting, consideration is being given to the built heritage.  According to architect Geoffrey Ramsay, as carried in the previously mentioned Sunday Sun, “some of the landmark warehouses along Cavans Lane will be demolished, … with partial retention where possible.”  Mr Ramsay also stated, “We have an opportunity to showcase the site’s cultural and intangible assets.”  Therefore, for the sake of this my final cry, let us consider those interred at the Pierhead as a part of that group of “intangible assets,” as there is no longer any physical presence. Although my voice like a cry in the wilderness might have no impact, nonetheless I feel compelled to speak to the issue.

While I do not contend with what Mr Ramsay reported or the total idea of the project, my concern is for the preservation of the burial space and the silent ancestors interred there. It should also be noted here that another slave graveyard on Fontabelle (under the Small Business Association building) has already been lost to us and this has not been highlighted.

Again, I understand development but what about the honour and consideration that should, by human empathy, be given to our deceased ancestors? As a world heritage site, a long and protracted history of enslavement where those ancestors lived and died for our freedom, what about our duty to honour and hold their lives sacred?

Case in point, in 2012, in Leicester, United Kingdom, the long sought-after remains of King Richard III were found under a car park where a monastery had stood. He died August 22, 1485, and some 527 years later, his remains were found, and honour was done to his memory and remains. This find was delicately handled, as in death his place of burial was preserved as sacred and has become a site where visitors can visit. The same mind to honour the dead has also been instituted at Pearl Harbour, where 2 403 personnel lost their lives in World War II. This site has been enshrined to the honour of the dead and is preserved as a space where visitors are welcomed.

If we are to develop our heritage tourism product, let us try to do so in a holistic manner. While we understand that development is a real part of life and living, if we are touting heritage tourism, we should consider using a scalpel in being careful about the way in which any development across the island is done. The world is always watching.

Consequently, if we allow the voice of history and heritage to be silent in the face of the noise and changes of contemporary times, who are we as a people? Let us pause and think on these things.

Additionally, it can be said that the way a society treats its dead speaks volumes about that society. Remember that the wheel has already been invented and given the previous examples cited regarding countries honouring their dead, let us follow suit, preserving our buried heritage.

Claudette Levi-Farnum
Historian