HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Signs of desecration, vandalism and neglect are everywhere at Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery in Pearl City.
12 years ago, the cemetery owner died, leaving an administrative vacuum, so that homeless camps quickly emerged.
Since then, three fires have broken out, destroying all records, leaving the crypts without doors, their walls crumbling, and toppling gravestones that once served as makeshift flooring for the camp.
“We had to relocate them. There were 25 of them and we still don’t know where they are going,” said Larry Veray, chairman of Friends for Sunset Memorial Cemetery.
Over 4,000 people are buried here. Their families are heartbroken.
“My dad had a lot of trouble getting him to clean it,” Maureen Andrade said.
Eight of her family members are buried in the cemetery, including her mother, father and sister.
What look like small houses in the cemetery are actually mausoleums. Veray says that homeless people still live in them. There is garbage everywhere and it smells terrible.
Governor Green signed House Bill 2192 and Senate Bill 2850 into law. On Thursday, Pearl City community members gathered to celebrate the state’s new law that gives them, as a nonprofit organization, the authority to oversee and repair the abandoned private cemetery. The new law has far-reaching implications for all abandoned cemeteries.
“This is one of the few cases where I have learned that the solution was to turn to our citizens to find a solution that the government cannot handle alone,” said state Rep. Gregg Takayama (D-Pearl City, Waiau, Pacific Palisades).
“We worked really hard,” said Andrade with tears in his eyes.
Friends for Sunset Memorial Cemetery says building a fence around the cemetery will be the first priority and that additional grants and volunteer cleanup and construction efforts are planned.
“I gave my nonprofit three years to transform this cemetery,” Veray said.
“It’s like everything is so bright now and I see a lot of hope. Many families depend on us,” he added.
After years of tears, the families hope for peace.
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