In Dushanbe, two cemeteries are being demolished, buried bodies are being removed and reburied in other cemeteries. Authorities report that a mosque will be built on the site of one of these graveyards, and a new building for the Dushanbe International Airport will be built on the site of the second.
Asia-Plus visited these two cemeteries and talked with residents and decision-makers.
The Cemeteries Department of the Dushanbe City Hall, in a telephone conversation with Asia-Plus, confirmed the transfer of these two cemeteries and reported that a mosque would be built on the site of the cemetery on Hayoti Nav Street, and a new international airport building would be built on the land in Khalkachary.
The Main Directorate of Architecture of the capital, where we turned for details, did not answer questions, asking us to send an official request.
Relatives were not warned in advance
One of the residents of the 84th microdistrict, whose relatives are buried in the cemetery of Khayoti Nav Street, says that the transfer of burials should have been announced through the media and social networks.
Another resident of the microdistrict, Ekaterina, agrees with him: “It was necessary to report on television and on the Internet that half of the residents of the 84th microdistrict have left and are outside the country. They don’t know that they need to move their dead.”
“We didn’t have time, we weren’t even notified, we came and started one day,” says Faridun Yarov, a resident of Hayoti Nav Street.
Residents dig their own graves. Without complying with sanitary standards
Relatives of the deceased are excavating the bodies at the cemetery on Hayoti Nav Street, although, according to them, they were helped by a group from the City Hall Cemeteries Department. Most of the remains from this graveyard have already been removed and reburied in the cemetery of the Mekhrobod microdistrict of the capital.
The Sharifov family, living on this street, removed the last remains of their relatives from the ground a few days ago.
“It was my sister and my little daughter Manizha. And the last one was my wife. My sister was buried 35 years ago, my daughter in 2005 or 2004,” says Saidali Sharifov, a resident of Khayoti Nav Street.
The reburial of bodies from the graveyard in the Khalkachar microdistrict of the Shokhmansur district has already been completed.
A four-day observation by an Asia-Plus correspondent at these two cemeteries showed that sanitary standards were not observed during the excavation of graves and removal of remains. The residents involved in the excavation did not have masks, and some did not even have gloves.
At the same time, the sanitary and epidemiological center of the Shokhmansur district “Asia-Plus” reported that the center’s specialists carried out disinfection at the cemetery.
The chairman of the Shishkhona mahalla of Khayoti Nav street, in a conversation with Asia-Plus, said that people participated in the excavation of graves voluntarily. Residents used gloves and masks when removing the remains, he said. However, as we noted above, our observations showed the opposite.
The State Center for Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance of Dushanbe told Asia-Plus that the removal of remains without compliance with sanitary standards can lead to the spread of various diseases, including tuberculosis, cholera, anthrax and others. Microorganisms left behind in remains can persist in the soil for years, and people involved in reburial without protective measures can become infected through the respiratory tract, skin, mouth or contaminated water, according to the agency.
It was noted that improper excavation of graves can pose an epidemiological threat to surrounding residents.
The State Center for Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance recommends using masks, disposable protective clothing, double gloves, safety glasses, rubber shoes when extracting remains, and disinfecting the soil after completing the work.
When can graves be dug up?
According to the decree of the Government of Tajikistan “On the procedure for the maintenance and use of cemeteries,” approved in 2017, the use of the territory of closed cemeteries is allowed forty years from the date of their closure. However, according to residents of the Khalkachar microdistrict, the last burial in this cemetery took place only a few months ago. The cemetery on Hayoti Nav Street, although closed in 2006, was still used for burials in subsequent years.
Shahrom Sharifov, a resident of this street, says: “My mother was buried here not so long ago, this morning she was taken out, thank God, she remained untouched. In 2020, she was in the Istiklol hospital, died, and we brought her here. About a week ago we were told that the authorities themselves would bring people to excavate those who were buried from COVID-19. We waited, brought people, and they dug themselves.”
To date, the cemetery in Khalkachhar has been completely moved; from here, more than 3 thousand bodies have been transported to the cemetery in Mekhrobod and other graveyards. More than 200 remains have been recovered from the Hayoti Nav cemetery, and excavations are still ongoing.
What did the mufti say?
Saidmukarram Abdukodirzoda Mufti of Tajikistan told Asia-Plus that just as a person is respected during life, the remains of the deceased should be respected, and they should be removed and reburied with full responsibility and adherence to etiquette.
He says that in case of necessity, natural disasters and other reasons requiring the relocation of burials, Islamic law allows this:
“The bones are wrapped in white cloth – not in the form of a shroud, but simply in a white prayer cloth, placed in a bag and transferred to another cemetery, where they are buried without janosa and without lahd (a niche in the wall of the grave. – Ed.).”
The Asia-Plus Cemeteries Department reported that the transfer of the graves was carried out in accordance with the norms of the Islamic religion.
