How this New York island became a mass grave

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  • Опубліковано 6 кві 2021
  • And why Hart Island is changing after the coronavirus pandemic.
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    Hart Island, a small piece of land off the Bronx in New York City, resurfaced in national headlines in April 2020, when New York City was the epicenter of the US coronavirus pandemic. News footage of the island’s cemetery showed trenches being filled with pine coffins, and sent shockwaves around the world. But these mass burials taking place during the pandemic are just the most recent in Hart Island’s long history.
    Hart Island’s “potter’s field” cemetery dates back to 1869, and for over 150 years has served as a burial ground for over 1 million New Yorkers. Over the years, infrastructure problems and a lack of reliable public access have earned Hart Island a tainted reputation.
    A 2021 analysis by Columbia Journalism School’s Stabile Center and THE CITY found that over 2,300 New Yorkers were buried on Hart Island in 2020. That’s more burials than any year during the AIDS epidemic, another recent health crisis. They also found that New York City is on pace to bury one in 1 in 10 Covid-19 victims on the island. The analysis of these burials shows who is more likely to be buried on Hart Island: Black and Latino residents, frontline workers, and those who have little access to health care.
    To understand how this ties together and what’s next for Hart Island, watch the video above.
    This story was produced in collaboration with THE CITY and Columbia Journalism School’s Stabile Center of Investigative Journalism, as part of “MISSING THEM,” THE CITY’s ongoing collaborative project to remember every New Yorker killed by COVID-19.
    “MISSING THEM’s” memorial and form: projects.thecity.nyc/covid-19...
    Sources and additional reading:
    THE CITY: www.thecity.nyc/missing-them/...
    THE CITY: www.thecity.nyc/2020/12/11/22...
    The Hart Island Project: www.hartisland.net/ ​
    Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out www.vox.com.
    Watch our full video catalog: goo.gl/IZONyE
    Follow Vox on Facebook: goo.gl/U2g06o
    Or Twitter: goo.gl/XFrZ5H

КОМЕНТАРІ • 595

  • @Vox
    @Vox  3 роки тому +306

    What should a memorial for Covid-19 victims look like? This feature from Vox's The Highlight explores the role of memorials in processing our collective grief: bit.ly/3uv45yN

    • @coastalcapybara
      @coastalcapybara 3 роки тому +23

      I think that, in the same manner we memorialize the tragedy of the September 11 attacks, we should (on January 13th, the date of the first known COVID-19 case in the U.S), memorialize the victims of COVID-19, on January 13th.

    • @ericfan1223
      @ericfan1223 3 роки тому +6

      I think three figures standing up, a doctor, a nurse and an emt

    • @yuch1102
      @yuch1102 3 роки тому +1

      Shouldn’t we cremate them instead? Why are we wasting tax dollars ?

    • @atakorkut5110
      @atakorkut5110 3 роки тому +7

      I personally have buried people in this cemetery with my own hands as inmate labour it felt so effed up cuz I felt like we are all unwanted using the unwanted to burry the unloved for free

    • @ArtisticlyAlexis
      @ArtisticlyAlexis 3 роки тому +7

      @@yuch1102 Not every faith allows for cremation, and I think the city is trying to be respectful to the unclaimed & their loved ones.

  • @giovannigarcia9972
    @giovannigarcia9972 3 роки тому +1320

    I feel Hart Island has the potential to become a really nice memorial park, with lots of greenery and an information centre explaining the history as well as records of everyone buried there

    • @JrsSd619
      @JrsSd619 3 роки тому +28

      picnic sandwhiches would be floating around lol

    • @ZenJr
      @ZenJr 3 роки тому +19

      Bryant Park was a potter's field too.. so yeah, once you forget what happened on the land you just have picnics over it!

    • @Hungryman4
      @Hungryman4 3 роки тому

      @@JrsSd619 so the governor’s island

    • @Songbird645
      @Songbird645 3 роки тому +6

      Sounds like a great idea.
      Teaching history while preserving nature.

    • @S1N999
      @S1N999 3 роки тому +3

      That's what the hart island project does. It was in the beginning of the vdoe

  • @VulcanTrekkie45
    @VulcanTrekkie45 3 роки тому +420

    This video also brings up another issue: why is it that you have to be related to the person you designate as your next of kin? In the case of Roderick Paulus, he designated a friend as his next of kin and she has no legal rights to claim his body or execute his wishes or death plan. How is that just? A lot of people are cut off or estranged from their families, so they should be able to designate whoever they wish as their next of kin.

    • @AbsolXGuardian
      @AbsolXGuardian 3 роки тому +32

      Next of kin is a shorthand for an automatic process that gives one's legal relative many different legal relationships. I assume Roderick simply wrote his friend's name in the next of kin section of a form. Perhaps she was legally his medical proxy. However he needed a death plan in his will to be allowed to deviate from the one the given to us all by the state. In New York, the appropriate form to designate someone else to be responsible for your body simply requires two adult witnesses, no mandatory fees or lawyer/notary involvement. So the problem here was a lack of education

  • @liamtahaney713
    @liamtahaney713 3 роки тому +704

    this is wayyyy better than how burials are managed in many cities. I think with tentative care, attention, and FUNDING, this could become a very nice memorial to New York's forgotten and overlooked populations. I hope the next 5-10 years will see more attention given and the improvement of amenities so New Yorkers can easily and safely visit their neighbors.

    • @AbsolXGuardian
      @AbsolXGuardian 3 роки тому +10

      The unclaimed dead have to go somewhere. And the way to cutdown on the unclaimed dead lays elsewhere. Hart Island must exist, it just needs to be given proper care to remove its problems.

    • @Mandrew_
      @Mandrew_ 3 роки тому +3

      @@AbsolXGuardian An alternative is cremation. It would mean no issues of space or erosion. Also, compare hart island to the pairs catacombs.

    • @AbsolXGuardian
      @AbsolXGuardian 3 роки тому +4

      @@Mandrew_ that could go againist people's religions. And the whole point of unclaimed dead is that very little is known of them. If we've decided to stop respecting the religous beliefs of the dead and their living loved ones, then we should do the most beneficial to the living solution- eat the dead, only stopped by sanitary restrictions

  • @hellohi1089
    @hellohi1089 3 роки тому +1357

    This hits differently. Died and buried without a proper ceremony, without a family or friend.

    • @cman7113
      @cman7113 3 роки тому +45

      Happens everywhere all the time

    • @TheElectrizantee
      @TheElectrizantee 3 роки тому +28

      it's normal, everyone dies alone

    • @blondie7240
      @blondie7240 3 роки тому +20

      What is wrong with that? They are dead.

    • @skywastaken7300
      @skywastaken7300 3 роки тому +2

      It’s so sad that it’s only about 5 miles from my House

    • @skywastaken7300
      @skywastaken7300 3 роки тому +13

      @@blondie7240 stop

  • @stev6963
    @stev6963 3 роки тому +146

    As heartbreaking as it is, I’m sure Vox made a big difference in honoring Roderick’s life and death by putting him in this video and educating the public on this situation.
    I hope his best friend finds peace and is able to gain access to the island soon so that she can visit his burial site and grieve properly as everyone deserves.
    RIP to all the souls lost who are buried there.

  • @FrancesLocke
    @FrancesLocke 3 роки тому +14

    What a good friend that woman is. I'm honestly moved. I wish more people in the world were that loyal and kind.

  • @Jack-on2fb
    @Jack-on2fb 3 роки тому +143

    That woman’s story was heart breaking and I pray that she will be able to have a memorial for him with her family ASAP. Rest In Peace.

  • @jannetteberends8730
    @jannetteberends8730 3 роки тому +59

    What a sad story, I sincerely hope it becomes a beautiful place.
    In my country, the Netherlands, and in Belgium, we have city poets. They make a poem for every city burial.

  • @Big007Boss
    @Big007Boss 3 роки тому +450

    never thought a city could have the equivalent of a drawer that you put old keys and cards in... just a sad image

    • @djctai9288
      @djctai9288 3 роки тому +9

      where else are you going to put them? I'd be more in favor of just cremating the body and spreading their ashes in a national park or something.

    • @Big007Boss
      @Big007Boss 3 роки тому +1

      @@djctai9288 I always thought NYC was like a part of some land mass, I guess it's an island like Hawaii or something, my bad.

    • @samthewizzy
      @samthewizzy 3 роки тому

      @@djctai9288 yeah it would make since to cremate them

    • @giginelson3016
      @giginelson3016 3 роки тому +5

      @@Big007Boss its a city on a few islands less than a mile of the cost of the East of the US.

    • @giginelson3016
      @giginelson3016 3 роки тому

      @@Big007Boss Hawaii is thousands of miles in the middle of the Pacific.

  • @613julie
    @613julie 3 роки тому +20

    Thank you for bringing Roderick's story to light. Hoping Anita and his friends & loved ones will find peace during their healing process.

  • @napoleonibonaparte7198
    @napoleonibonaparte7198 3 роки тому +46

    Hart Island should be given a massive memorial, and probably a museum to the COVID era.

    • @blondie7240
      @blondie7240 3 роки тому

      Waste of money

    • @napoleonibonaparte7198
      @napoleonibonaparte7198 3 роки тому +14

      @@blondie7240 I guess WW2 memorials are a waste as well? Like those in Pearl Harbour?

    • @blondie7240
      @blondie7240 3 роки тому

      @@napoleonibonaparte7198 those memorialize actual struggles

    • @napoleonibonaparte7198
      @napoleonibonaparte7198 3 роки тому +9

      @@blondie7240 So, what about Holocaust memorials? Did they not ‘struggle’?

    • @blondie7240
      @blondie7240 3 роки тому

      @@napoleonibonaparte7198 no

  • @Danielevans2
    @Danielevans2 3 роки тому +203

    The story of Roger the toy store owner proper got me teary 🥺😰

    •  3 роки тому +25

      He was a postal worker and toy-collector

    • @raybeesmustsuck
      @raybeesmustsuck 3 роки тому +3

      Me to.. found the grave on the website...

  • @samartikov6045
    @samartikov6045 3 роки тому +240

    “don’t be afraid of dead they no longer can harm you, be afraid of living”

    • @AdamNZ
      @AdamNZ 3 роки тому +9

      My Nan told me that as a kid.

    • @ld7599
      @ld7599 3 роки тому +5

      Same, my nan heard it from her mom

  • @faybrink-yourhoustonrealtor
    @faybrink-yourhoustonrealtor 3 роки тому +97

    Thank goodness that New York is doing something about this devastating situation.

  • @caslook.kalliades
    @caslook.kalliades 3 роки тому +275

    I want to be buried under a new tree. Let it feed on me and give it and myself a new life.

    • @user-ry5eb8ti9v
      @user-ry5eb8ti9v 3 роки тому +3

      🤯🙏🙌👏

    • @gsjourney3054
      @gsjourney3054 3 роки тому +2

      That’s what my mom wants not under a tree but she wants to give the earth life back not be eaten by worms

    • @junirenjana
      @junirenjana 3 роки тому +18

      Actually, among some of the Toraja people in my country, they put deceased newborns to rest _inside_ tree trunks, which will continue to grow as the bodies decompose...
      (Google up "Toraja baby graves". Or just read about their burial rituals in general, they're pretty interesting)

    • @jinjunliu2401
      @jinjunliu2401 3 роки тому +15

      @@gsjourney3054 being eaten by worms is giving your life back to the earth though

    • @caslook.kalliades
      @caslook.kalliades 3 роки тому +1

      @@junirenjana Thank you for sharing.

  • @bosseursem9123
    @bosseursem9123 3 роки тому +24

    To all people saying the island should me renamed. ❤Hart means heart in dutch. So it is already called heart island❤

  • @josemendez9641
    @josemendez9641 3 роки тому +19

    I just gotta say this: RIP RODRICK & ANYBODY THAT WAS FORGOTTEN ON HART ISLAND. YALL ARE NEVER EVER FORGOTTEN.

  • @Arjun593
    @Arjun593 3 роки тому +62

    I had no idea, and I’ve been here my whole life

  • @loreleigrove3030
    @loreleigrove3030 3 роки тому +20

    Lived in NY my whole life, never knew about Hart Island until now.

  • @RevolutionClann
    @RevolutionClann 3 роки тому +110

    So many bodies and stories... yet the island is still plagued with eternal despair and loneliness.

    • @Thim22Z7
      @Thim22Z7 3 роки тому +5

      Exactly, which is why I think that a memorial would be right here. That all of those people who are burried there arent burried on a poorly maintained bad looking island, but on a well kept island respecting those who have died. It even touches me, someone who lives on the other side of the Atlantic and has no connection to NYC at all.

  • @emrecakiral2266
    @emrecakiral2266 3 роки тому +17

    Why do I feel like New Yorkers have an island for everything. Like they got that one spooky island where they put infected ppl, they got a prison island...not to forget Ellis and Liberty Island. This one is just an addition to the collection at this point.

    • @user-rw6xo9jc3n
      @user-rw6xo9jc3n 3 роки тому +3

      i learned recently that they have an island where they send 1/3 of the cities waste and trash to be burned

    • @xorlux
      @xorlux 3 роки тому +1

      Ikr , they have islands as if its a collectible

  • @Nanancay
    @Nanancay 2 роки тому +4

    Learnt about this from Pose - This breaks my heart. It feels like even after death, this is a reminder these people are alone - separate from the mainland. I know they won’t care much because they’re gone, but they were probably alone in their final moments. Life is painful but I hope regardless, people will try to seek out a better future for themselves.

  • @skysthelimitvideos
    @skysthelimitvideos 3 роки тому +74

    As a kid on Long Island they told us Hart Island was cursed and that the government would shoot you if you tried to visit. It’s funny what they’ll exaggerate to kids to scare them.

    • @LivenSixtyFive
      @LivenSixtyFive 3 роки тому +4

      I've never been told that. Such a Bizarre explanation. Ngl as a kid on LI, I have never even heard people on Long Island talk about Hart Island.

    • @oddle_doddle
      @oddle_doddle 3 роки тому +1

      @@LivenSixtyFive its almost like two people in the same place can have different experiences...

    • @clevernamegotban1752
      @clevernamegotban1752 3 роки тому

      @@LivenSixtyFive I'm sure skys is from an area closer to hart Island than you, im from LI but further away from The Bronx and I've never heard a peep about hart Island before COVID.

  • @bilals8188
    @bilals8188 3 роки тому +7

    She’s a smart lady, my condolences goes to her and her family. Love from the UK my sis. 🇬🇧❤️

  • @bluesquare23
    @bluesquare23 3 роки тому +30

    That was really sad. They need to build a memorial on that island and let people visit.

  • @maimounasiby2178
    @maimounasiby2178 3 роки тому +41

    Anita Perry’s interview almost broke me, incredible video great job Vox!! More videos like this please!

    • @littleladyoreo
      @littleladyoreo 3 роки тому +3

      Almost broke me when she called me and told me he passed and where he was. I'm happy New York is working to change the departments so others, like my family, can have find some
      peace from all of this.

  • @indinesle6254
    @indinesle6254 3 роки тому +312

    love how everyone looks at New York and thinks that’s where they go to on holiday, but they’re actually going to small little islands (I’m talking about NYC)

  • @aboybaker123
    @aboybaker123 3 роки тому +41

    If NYC invested more money & care to Hart Island, it could become a proper memorial site that draws in many visitors like Arlington or Oak Ridge Cemeteries.

    • @flakgun153
      @flakgun153 3 роки тому

      I doubt it. It's too far out of the way, and the dead people there aren't very relevant.
      It's just going to be yet another way the city throws our money away

    • @sirhayden5516
      @sirhayden5516 Рік тому

      @@flakgun153 thats the most braindead take ever.

  • @nishakgrewal2049
    @nishakgrewal2049 3 роки тому +12

    This story was incredibly insightful and moving. Love the work you do for this channel.

  • @StellarAvenger
    @StellarAvenger 3 роки тому +2

    Pose season 2 episode 1 brought attention to this island. I wasn't aware of it prior.

  • @rebeccab1335
    @rebeccab1335 3 роки тому +17

    This was very powerful. I hope New Yorkers do gain access to a place transformed to one of peace and rest.

  • @SaturnDahlia
    @SaturnDahlia 2 роки тому +2

    I live on the island to the left on the map, city island, and apparently body parts from hart island would wash up on the beaches on city island every now and then but it was a while ago. There's some type of beauty to hart island, how rustic it looks. I know there's people on the island that are living still but it's almost like it hasn't been touched in the almost 200 years all that's been there. There's a song by a band called the moldy peaches, NYC's like a graveyard. It's one of my favorite songs by them and thinking about hart island that song fits perfectly.

  • @klwin1123
    @klwin1123 3 роки тому +3

    Everybody deserves the best memorial even with or without relatives.

  • @nicknunez846
    @nicknunez846 3 роки тому +18

    Many of these people should not be forgotten. They should be remembered in history due to these horrible events in history 💧

  • @cmhosam
    @cmhosam 3 роки тому +6

    What a fantastic video that shows the importance of remembrance and the ways that allocation of resources can have decades-long consequences

  • @DarkTwilightGuitar
    @DarkTwilightGuitar 3 роки тому +25

    Nice footage dude!

  • @dudeofmedicine8010
    @dudeofmedicine8010 3 роки тому +42

    Your journalism skills are just absolutely mind blowing, you inspire me to run a medical journalism channel

    • @elishh8567
      @elishh8567 3 роки тому +4

      Please do it! I wilm watch

    • @dudeofmedicine8010
      @dudeofmedicine8010 3 роки тому +3

      @@elishh8567 sure I am working on it

    • @VTREXify
      @VTREXify 3 роки тому +1

      I just subscribed. I'll be looking forward to your videos in the future.

  • @DirtCobaine
    @DirtCobaine 2 роки тому +2

    What a great video vox! Little Big stories like this often go unheard

  • @matthewcubbon1264
    @matthewcubbon1264 3 роки тому +3

    I worked for NYS parks for 8 years. Unfortunately not anymore, but if/when they get their hands on that, they will completely transform that place into a beautiful, inviting area.

  • @evuhhlen
    @evuhhlen 3 роки тому +8

    Wow, this video taught me so much. Looking forward to seeing the positive ways Hart Island will change under NYC Parks.

  • @annatati
    @annatati 3 роки тому +2

    I actually learned about Hart Island through Pose strangely enough

  • @JD-jz5rr
    @JD-jz5rr 3 роки тому +4

    *Most western countries are switching from burial to electric cremation* The cremation rate in the United States has been increasing steadily with the national average cremation rate rising from 3.56% in 1960 to 53.1% in 2018~ *The cremation rate in Canada has been increasing steadily with the national average rate rising from 5.9% in 1970 to 68.4% in 2009.* ~
    ~
    Cremation rates in the Nordic European countries vary from Norway's 36% to Finland's 51%, Sweden's 70% and Denmark's 76%. In all countries the cremation rate in large towns is generally between 70% and 90%.~
    ~
    Cremation remains a minority practice in rural France where burial places are available, but is increasingly common in urban areas. In 1979 just 1% of funerals involved cremation: in 2012 it was 32%, rising to 45% in Paris.~
    ~
    Similar trend is happening in UK, Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand.

    • @JD-jz5rr
      @JD-jz5rr 3 роки тому

      *The patented Living Urn is America's first and leading bio urn & planting system designed to grow a beautiful, enduring memory tree, plant, or flowers with cremated ashes!* ~ The patented Living Urn is complex in its design, but simple and easy to use. Place your loved one's cremated ashes in the BioUrn and add the proprietary RootProtect additive on top. Next, lower the roots of the young tree into the special BioUrn, add the premium growth mix, and plant it in the ground. A beautiful, enduring living memorial will then grow up from the urn and the cremated ashes to keep your loved one's memory present in your life!

    • @JD-jz5rr
      @JD-jz5rr 3 роки тому

      In 1998, the Singapore government announced a policy to limit the burial period to 15 years. Bodies are then dug up and either cremated or interred in small plots to save space in the case of Muslims and other groups whose religions require burials. ~
      ~
      Singapore's environment agency says most people are choosing cremation over burial, with the proportion rising from 66 percent in 1992 to 80 percent in 2011. ~
      ~
      Ang Jolie, funeral director at Ang Yew Seng Funeral Parlour, said the need to remove the body after 15 years is the main reason why many of her customers opt for cremation.~
      ~
      Choa Chu Kang Cemetery Complex is the only cemetery in Singapore still accepting burials.
      On 1 November 1998, the NEA implemented a policy to limit the burial period of all graves to 15 years, due to a shortage of space in the cemeteries. After being buried for 15 years, graves are exhumed and the remains removed. If the religion of the deceased permits cremation, the exhumed remains are cremated and stored in government columbaria niches; otherwise, the remains are re-buried in smaller individual plots.
      ~
      In the days of British rule, the number of Chinese burial grounds in Singapore increased very rapidly and the colonial government had little power to control burial spaces because it did not possess sanctions of sufficient strength.
      ~
      *The local authorities began to view these cemeteries as hazardous sources of disease-causing vectors such as mosquitoes, as well as a form of land waste.* There were urgent demands on space in land-scarce Singapore in the name of national development. In the words of E. W. Barker, then the minister for law, environment, science and technology, "The needs of Singapore's young population must require the use of sterilised land, for the economic and social good of all citizens of Singapore."
      ~
      In the 1965 Master Plan, which was designed to guide land-use development in Singapore, cemeteries were identified as land "considered available for development", and cremation was mooted as a viable option to deal with the exhumed bodies from these burial grounds, and as a way to dispose of people who died. To encourage the population to adopt this relatively new way of treating the dead, the state employed the help of "funerary middlemen" who could erode the distrust of cremation because they were respected for their knowledge of death rites and disposal.
      ~
      *In addition, the rallying cries of national development, the common good, and the country's future were used to encourage the populace to take up the idea of cremation and to abandon their insistence of traditional burial grounds.*
      ~
      In 1972, the state made it clear that it would close all cemeteries near and around the city area to "conserve land".
      ~
      As an alternative means of managing the disposal of the dead, the state offered burial space at a state-owned public cemetery complex at Choa Chu Kang, *although it made it clear that it considered cremation as the only viable long-term option.*

  • @hannibalwheatley700
    @hannibalwheatley700 11 місяців тому +1

    I live in New York City and I've never heard of Hart Island this is incredible and I'm going straight down the rabbit hole cuz I want to find out everything about it

  • @Physicsope875
    @Physicsope875 3 роки тому +11

    Thanks vox team for such detailed research!!

  • @nickhuysen4643
    @nickhuysen4643 3 роки тому +52

    As much as death is a taboo topic for many, I force myself to watch these kind of videos.. Because at the end of the day, death is a necessary part of life..

    • @danielgreaney7178
      @danielgreaney7178 3 роки тому +2

      People must be taught about death. Growing up on a farm has shown me that. It is an important part of life.

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      @lianaothmannn 3 роки тому

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  • @nooneinparticular9837
    @nooneinparticular9837 3 роки тому +1

    Very moving. Thank you.

  • @butter231997
    @butter231997 Рік тому +1

    Hart Island, Lake Lanier. The older I get, I can’t believe places like this still exist

  • @nhatleminh1396
    @nhatleminh1396 3 роки тому +3

    I love stories like this so much. That's life at its core, most humane aspect it could be.
    As the US is escaping the horrors of Covid-19, these stories featuring the dark sides seem off, but still very much relevant to the lives of those amazing but often marginalized people in New York society.
    Thanks Vox for bringing this to worldwide audience like us. I really appreciate it.

  • @JD-jz5rr
    @JD-jz5rr 3 роки тому +9

    In 1998, the Singapore government announced a policy to limit the burial period to 15 years. Bodies are then dug up and either cremated or interred in small plots to save space in the case of Muslims and other groups whose religions require burials. ~
    ~
    Singapore's environment agency says most people are choosing cremation over burial, with the proportion rising from 66 percent in 1992 to 80 percent in 2011. ~
    ~
    Ang Jolie, funeral director at Ang Yew Seng Funeral Parlour, said the need to remove the body after 15 years is the main reason why many of her customers opt for cremation.~
    ~
    Choa Chu Kang Cemetery Complex is the only cemetery in Singapore still accepting burials.
    On 1 November 1998, the NEA implemented a policy to limit the burial period of all graves to 15 years, due to a shortage of space in the cemeteries. After being buried for 15 years, graves are exhumed and the remains removed. If the religion of the deceased permits cremation, the exhumed remains are cremated and stored in government columbaria niches; otherwise, the remains are re-buried in smaller individual plots.
    ~
    In the days of British rule, the number of Chinese burial grounds in Singapore increased very rapidly and the colonial government had little power to control burial spaces because it did not possess sanctions of sufficient strength.
    ~
    *The local authorities began to view these cemeteries as hazardous sources of disease-causing vectors such as mosquitoes, as well as a form of land waste.* There were urgent demands on space in land-scarce Singapore in the name of national development. In the words of E. W. Barker, then the minister for law, environment, science and technology, "The needs of Singapore's young population must require the use of sterilised land, for the economic and social good of all citizens of Singapore."
    ~
    In the 1965 Master Plan, which was designed to guide land-use development in Singapore, cemeteries were identified as land "considered available for development", and cremation was mooted as a viable option to deal with the exhumed bodies from these burial grounds, and as a way to dispose of people who died. To encourage the population to adopt this relatively new way of treating the dead, the state employed the help of "funerary middlemen" who could erode the distrust of cremation because they were respected for their knowledge of death rites and disposal.
    ~
    *In addition, the rallying cries of national development, the common good, and the country's future were used to encourage the populace to take up the idea of cremation and to abandon their insistence of traditional burial grounds.*
    ~
    In 1972, the state made it clear that it would close all cemeteries near and around the city area to "conserve land".
    ~
    As an alternative means of managing the disposal of the dead, the state offered burial space at a state-owned public cemetery complex at Choa Chu Kang, *although it made it clear that it considered cremation as the only viable long-term option.*

    • @JD-jz5rr
      @JD-jz5rr 3 роки тому

      *Most western countries are switching from burial to electric cremation* The cremation rate in the United States has been increasing steadily with the national average cremation rate rising from 3.56% in 1960 to 53.1% in 2018~ *The cremation rate in Canada has been increasing steadily with the national average rate rising from 5.9% in 1970 to 68.4% in 2009.* ~
      ~
      Cremation rates in the Nordic European countries vary from Norway's 36% to Finland's 51%, Sweden's 70% and Denmark's 76%. In all countries the cremation rate in large towns is generally between 70% and 90%.~
      ~
      Cremation remains a minority practice in rural France where burial places are available, but is increasingly common in urban areas. In 1979 just 1% of funerals involved cremation: in 2012 it was 32%, rising to 45% in Paris.~
      ~
      Similar trend is happening in UK, Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand.

    • @JD-jz5rr
      @JD-jz5rr 3 роки тому

      *The patented Living Urn is America's first and leading bio urn & planting system designed to grow a beautiful, enduring memory tree, plant, or flowers with cremated ashes!* ~ The patented Living Urn is complex in its design, but simple and easy to use. Place your loved one's cremated ashes in the BioUrn and add the proprietary RootProtect additive on top. Next, lower the roots of the young tree into the special BioUrn, add the premium growth mix, and plant it in the ground. A beautiful, enduring living memorial will then grow up from the urn and the cremated ashes to keep your loved one's memory present in your life!

  • @lucacomba
    @lucacomba 3 роки тому

    You did such a great job explaining. Thank you!

  • @Tkkalas
    @Tkkalas 3 роки тому +2

    Very good video! Love when you guys do local issues like this and international stuff!

  • @avariceseven9443
    @avariceseven9443 3 роки тому +16

    I think it's still too early to be making memorial for covid-19 victims. Only when we finally have control over it should it be erected as a symbol of remembrance and love for those that have fallen, for victory of those who are still standing and did the right thing and of shame for those who chose not to do anything.

  • @michaelallmon8424
    @michaelallmon8424 3 роки тому +11

    Love your videos :)

  • @lohphat
    @lohphat 3 роки тому +8

    Cenotaphs are important. Having a place commemorating a human's existence is consoling for those in the future seeking family and friends, even decades and centuries later.
    My family has chosen cremation and scattering but we have cenotaphs placed on their parents' graves to document their existence.

  • @CH-rp1zl
    @CH-rp1zl 3 роки тому +4

    Shoutout to all of the "forgotten" souls buried here, and Roderick and Anita Perry.

  • @GaasubaMeskhenet
    @GaasubaMeskhenet 3 роки тому +6

    I can already see so many potential problems with "if they can't contact anyone"
    Phones aren't a right in this country.
    Internet access isn't a right in this country.

  • @Dr-UnBox
    @Dr-UnBox 3 роки тому +1

    Great video👍👍

  • @LoudMime
    @LoudMime 3 роки тому +2

    The first time I knew about Hart Island was a depiction of it in Pose FX. It was such a heavt scene to watch because of all the loneliness and pain

  • @JD-jz5rr
    @JD-jz5rr 3 роки тому +11

    Fun Fact: *The cremation rate in the United States has been increasing steadily with the national average cremation rate rising from 3.56% in 1960 to 53.1% in 2018* ~ The cremation rate in Canada has been increasing steadily with the national average rate rising from 5.9% in 1970 to 68.4% in 2009.~
    ~
    Cremation rates in the Nordic European countries vary from Norway's 36% to Finland's 51%, Sweden's 70% and Denmark's 76%. In all countries the cremation rate in large towns is generally between 70% and 90%.~
    ~
    Cremation remains a minority practice in rural France where burial places are available, but is increasingly common in urban areas. In 1979 just 1% of funerals involved cremation: in 2012 it was 32%, rising to 45% in Paris.~
    ~
    Similar trend is happening in UK, Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand.

    • @JD-jz5rr
      @JD-jz5rr 3 роки тому

      *The patented Living Urn is America's first and leading bio urn & planting system designed to grow a beautiful, enduring memory tree, plant, or flowers with cremated ashes!* ~ The patented Living Urn is complex in its design, but simple and easy to use. Place your loved one's cremated ashes in the BioUrn and add the proprietary RootProtect additive on top. Next, lower the roots of the young tree into the special BioUrn, add the premium growth mix, and plant it in the ground. A beautiful, enduring living memorial will then grow up from the urn and the cremated ashes to keep your loved one's memory present in your life!

    • @JD-jz5rr
      @JD-jz5rr 3 роки тому

      In 1998, the Singapore government announced a policy to limit the burial period to 15 years. Bodies are then dug up and either cremated or interred in small plots to save space in the case of Muslims and other groups whose religions require burials. ~
      ~
      Singapore's environment agency says most people are choosing cremation over burial, with the proportion rising from 66 percent in 1992 to 80 percent in 2011. ~
      ~
      Ang Jolie, funeral director at Ang Yew Seng Funeral Parlour, said the need to remove the body after 15 years is the main reason why many of her customers opt for cremation.~
      ~
      Choa Chu Kang Cemetery Complex is the only cemetery in Singapore still accepting burials.
      On 1 November 1998, the NEA implemented a policy to limit the burial period of all graves to 15 years, due to a shortage of space in the cemeteries. After being buried for 15 years, graves are exhumed and the remains removed. If the religion of the deceased permits cremation, the exhumed remains are cremated and stored in government columbaria niches; otherwise, the remains are re-buried in smaller individual plots.
      ~
      In the days of British rule, the number of Chinese burial grounds in Singapore increased very rapidly and the colonial government had little power to control burial spaces because it did not possess sanctions of sufficient strength.
      ~
      *The local authorities began to view these cemeteries as hazardous sources of disease-causing vectors such as mosquitoes, as well as a form of land waste.* There were urgent demands on space in land-scarce Singapore in the name of national development. In the words of E. W. Barker, then the minister for law, environment, science and technology, "The needs of Singapore's young population must require the use of sterilised land, for the economic and social good of all citizens of Singapore."
      ~
      In the 1965 Master Plan, which was designed to guide land-use development in Singapore, cemeteries were identified as land "considered available for development", and cremation was mooted as a viable option to deal with the exhumed bodies from these burial grounds, and as a way to dispose of people who died. To encourage the population to adopt this relatively new way of treating the dead, the state employed the help of "funerary middlemen" who could erode the distrust of cremation because they were respected for their knowledge of death rites and disposal.
      ~
      *In addition, the rallying cries of national development, the common good, and the country's future were used to encourage the populace to take up the idea of cremation and to abandon their insistence of traditional burial grounds.*
      ~
      In 1972, the state made it clear that it would close all cemeteries near and around the city area to "conserve land".
      ~
      As an alternative means of managing the disposal of the dead, the state offered burial space at a state-owned public cemetery complex at Choa Chu Kang, *although it made it clear that it considered cremation as the only viable long-term option.*

  • @kimberlysingh5909
    @kimberlysingh5909 3 роки тому +1

    such a well done video, so informative. acknowledging the collective grief would go a long way

  • @leonleon2021
    @leonleon2021 3 роки тому +23

    Remember that someone back in 2020 said "it was just a flu"?

    • @hgfhfghfghfg755
      @hgfhfghfghfg755 3 роки тому +2

      yup

    • @InfinityHS
      @InfinityHS 3 роки тому

      Tried calling it a hoax too and even tried saying he didn’t say that.

  • @RyanPowerhouse
    @RyanPowerhouse 3 роки тому

    This was very touching. I hope NY can heal. ♥️🗽

  • @Bmanritchie
    @Bmanritchie 3 роки тому +2

    OF COURSE it can be changed.
    1-Make every burial a natural grave
    2- Plot a couple trees per person
    3-Name those trees according to person buried underneath
    4-Rename the island in place for the largest ‘human forest’ in the world

  • @MyDNAAStory
    @MyDNAAStory 3 роки тому +20

    Wow 1 million people... That’s a lot

    • @temlee7865
      @temlee7865 3 роки тому +1

      Yeah so sad! By the way your DNA 🧬🧬🧬 Videos are great man

    • @cleo6485
      @cleo6485 3 роки тому

      @@temlee7865 DNA??? Huh???

    • @dailybrother9180
      @dailybrother9180 3 роки тому

      yeah seriously i didn't think that many people were buried there

  • @ikeyshuster9801
    @ikeyshuster9801 3 роки тому +4

    I love this kind of content

  • @Paco1337
    @Paco1337 3 роки тому +14

    All fun and games until water level goes up and bodies start floating around

  • @DiamondCalibre
    @DiamondCalibre 3 роки тому +13

    Man, a cities' police department being one of the causes of a problem a city is facing? I'm absolutely shocked. /s

  • @zihadsultan4492
    @zihadsultan4492 3 роки тому +16

    Another quality vid from vox, you guys rocks

  • @abibnoor
    @abibnoor 3 роки тому +2

    Rename it to *HEART ISLAND* and build a giant red heart. Like The Bean (Cloud Gate) in Chicago

  • @joshh.2159
    @joshh.2159 3 роки тому +4

    I've been within a 100' of there because they won't let you on the island in its real creepy, like really creepy. Building falling apart, just the history of how many different uses it had, now its just basically a cemetery there's like billions of bodies buried on this little tiny island it's just haunting

  • @bisimedia
    @bisimedia 3 роки тому

    Vox, you guys are amazing.

  • @WesleyMarsh9758
    @WesleyMarsh9758 3 роки тому

    I lived in NYC my whole life and have literally never of this island before. Very informative Vox

  • @yangfan2440
    @yangfan2440 3 роки тому +1

    the saddest part in life is sometimes when dying alone, and nobody remembers you anymore.

  • @MrDingo-lo7zs
    @MrDingo-lo7zs 3 роки тому +7

    Vox is awesome 👏🏼

  • @Happy_Shopper
    @Happy_Shopper 3 роки тому

    This really made me care. Thank you

  • @alypixar4690
    @alypixar4690 3 роки тому

    Great video

  • @DanzaMissBanana
    @DanzaMissBanana 13 днів тому

    Never knew any of this. Very intriguing and sad info!

  • @wiltedflower2545
    @wiltedflower2545 3 роки тому +5

    These people seem to be eradicated at the size of their tomb from the community, but, some of them are still not forgotten to be buried at the core of their loved ones' hearth.

  • @mix_media6699
    @mix_media6699 3 роки тому +1

    Good luck friend 👍

  • @jasonyang7842
    @jasonyang7842 3 роки тому +4

    I would rather let mushrooms decompose my body naturally. Returning my body back to the earth.

  • @aleztj
    @aleztj 3 роки тому +2

    It reminded me about the movie called "The Saint Of Fort Washington" starring Danny Glover and Matt Dillon,.
    It photographs the reality and makes further sense of this episode.
    Thanks for sharing as always love your publications.

  • @claireconover
    @claireconover 3 роки тому +1

    They should make hart island park-like (similar to a typical cemetery) and open it up to visitors.

  • @fordraven5884
    @fordraven5884 3 роки тому

    Like your UA-cam channel❤

  • @novabxnynova5381
    @novabxnynova5381 3 роки тому +1

    Great video, lived in nyc for 20 years and never heard of hart island. As a nyc unión carpenter I’ve worked at Roosevelt and randles island and knew a little history from both their past, but didn’t know what nyc currently does with bodies now. The cemetery’s now are super full and people pay outrageous prices for a plot. Glad to see there is somewhere else for these people.

    • @srfurley
      @srfurley 8 місяців тому

      Lived in London, England all of my 66 years. I have heard of Hart Island and have Melinda’s book, it took about a month to get it from Amazon. I have never been to the island, but have looked over to it from City Island on a visit to New York about fifteen years ago. Hope it becomes easier for people to visit the island in future.

  • @Kai.onionx
    @Kai.onionx 3 роки тому +1

    😢 so sad!!!!!!

  • @tv9944
    @tv9944 3 роки тому +1

    I am a Korean herb farm.
    I learn a lot from watching videos.
    I wish you good farming and good health and happiness.
    영상잘보고갑니다. 유투브도 승승장구하시길 응원합니다

  • @danielharmon15
    @danielharmon15 3 роки тому +3

    Thank you Pose s2X1

  • @sanketpatel5137
    @sanketpatel5137 3 роки тому +13

    Imagine someone after 1000 years dig here

    • @drdurianz328
      @drdurianz328 3 роки тому

      They'd think it's a secret homocide

  • @cstnfacu
    @cstnfacu 3 роки тому +31

    "How this New York island became a mass grave" I thought you were referring to Manhattan.

    • @darealist690
      @darealist690 3 роки тому

      Isnt Manhattan a burrow of NYC idk I leave in CA

    • @blackopscw7913
      @blackopscw7913 3 роки тому

      @@darealist690 Yes.

    • @chesterplemany
      @chesterplemany 3 роки тому +1

      Under Washington Square Park in Manhattan are thousands of bodies buried in a potters field created in 17th century during Dutch settlement period. So yes, Manhattan is a New York island that also became, at one point in its early history, a mass grave.

  • @Jackrobertsch
    @Jackrobertsch 3 роки тому +1

    this makes me remember how much I preferer cremation than burial at some point we will run out of burial places.

  • @silentwolf6555
    @silentwolf6555 Рік тому +2

    Hart island kinda embodies the new American ideals, where those who have power are remembered, and those who have little to nothing are forgotten (especially minorities)

  • @canb7923
    @canb7923 3 роки тому

    Thank you finally

  • @alparslankorkmaz2964
    @alparslankorkmaz2964 3 роки тому +1

    Nice video.

  • @adorablegodzilla5628
    @adorablegodzilla5628 3 роки тому +11

    Wouldn't it be easier to cremate them and do an a building cemetery like what you'd see in some Asian cities? Also, if the family is found, they can pay to take the urn and that spot can be used for someone else.

    • @TheLunoLion1
      @TheLunoLion1 3 роки тому +4

      That was exactly what I thought. If you have bodies with no relatives & no loved ones, why don't you just cremate them. That's way better.

  • @anirudhkolli2241
    @anirudhkolli2241 3 роки тому +1

    Wow!

  • @suzankadel5484
    @suzankadel5484 3 роки тому

    Love from Nepal.....

  • @ashleyhw4388
    @ashleyhw4388 3 роки тому

    This is so sad. 😢

  • @rjlong89
    @rjlong89 3 роки тому +1

    Sad man...

  • @paisan8766
    @paisan8766 3 роки тому

    Such a sad story about Roger. RIP