30,000 aborted babies buried in Huê cemetery

The cemetery is the initiative of Catholic volunteers, who have remained anonymous for security reasons. They celebrate the sacredness of life and struggle against the culture of death spreading in Vietnam through individualism and consumerism. Similar cemeteries have been set up in Pleiku and Ho Chi Minh City.

Huê (AsiaNews) – A cemetery for aborted fetuses is growing in Huê diocese. Set up in 1992, it now contains the remains of 30,000 fetuses. Vietnam, which is opening up to market globalization, is in gripped by a culture of death, largely reflected in the rising number of abortions. Youth are becoming more and more individualistic, materialistic, and attached to consumerism, and having sexual relations before marriage is increasingly common. "Now, before getting married, we have 'trial periods' of living together," one student told AsiaNews. He continued: "My companions and friends, who are the same age as I am, do the same."

Mr H. is the director of the cemetery for the dead babies. He told AsiaNews: "This morning, I already brought 10 babies here. Yesterday afternoon, we buried 16. It's sad to see this with our own eyes. All 16 little fetuses had been placed in a green bag. Sometimes, we have up to 20 fetuses in the same grave.  In the first three months of this year, we buried at least 400 children."

The cemetery was born from the initiative of a group of volunteers who wanted to celebrate the "sacredness of life" by giving the little fetuses a burial at least. Every day, volunteers go to collect victims from hospitals, clinics and even from garbage dumps, and then they bury them.

The cemetery is not officially recognized by the government, but it closes an eye to the practice, well regarded by Christians, Buddhists and Animists. Even members of the Vietnamese Communist Party have described the cemetery as a "sacred work of love". Similar cemeteries have emerged near many parishes in Pleiku and in Ho Chi Minh city. 

Volunteers in Huê carry a notebook with them to list the names given to the victims. So far, one notebook per year has been sufficient but at least three will be needed for 2006, given the growing number of abortions.

No one knows who the parents of the victims are. At times, however, some come to visit the tombs. A woman, gripped by sorrow, wanders among the graves, incense burner in hand. She confides in a volunteer: "I made a mistake. I had an extramarital relationship. Then I was afraid the child would not have been accepted when it was born, so I resigned myself to having an abortion."

Every so often, messages with the child's name are found, signed by the mother and father.

Mr H, who is helped by Mr N, does not limit himself to burying fetuses. "Many parents, youth and students need to be listened to, counseled, and helped. We try to be close to them and to help them understand the importance of the sacredness of life." H. said that often these ugly experiences had a serious impact on the health and psychology of youth, who could find, when they married, that they had become infertile. "Today, we need to be led by a strong spirituality," added Mr H.

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