Authorities in Nghe An Province are preparing to renovate the abandoned cemetery that is the final resting place for more than 200 martyrs after an article published in DTiNews attracted attention to the site.

Ground-breaking ceremony

On June 27, the People's Committee of Nghe An Province was asked to inspect the Southern Cemetery and propose a renovation plan. According to the records, the cemetery has 221 graves, of which the identities of 43 are unknown.

Pham Minh Tam, deputy head of Hung Dung Commune's War Veteran Association, said they had sent the list to the Tro Ve Tu Ky Uc (Returning from Memory Programme) in an attempt to identify the anonymous matyrs and contact their families. Le Ngoc Hoa, director of Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No. 4 asked that the company be allowed to take over renovation and management of the cemetery.

On July 24, the Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No. 4 cooperated with municipal authorities to hold the ground-breaking ceremony for the renovation. "We cleaned out the weeds, rebuilt and cleaned up the graves. We hope, with the help of the authorities, that we will be able to identify the anonymous graves and find their families," said Hoa. 

The VND1.6 billion (USD76,000) project is expected to be complete by October, 2015.

Many graves cared for

The Southern Cemetery is said to have existed for more than 60 years ago. At that time, when the country was still divided in two, many soldiers from the southern region arrived and fought in the North. Those who died were buried in the cemetery in what is now known as Hung Dung Commune.

However, over the years many people have forgotten about this cemetery and residents of the area have use it cemetery to bury family members. "Some matyrs have been returned to their hometowns, but visitors rarely come. Maybe the matyrs' families have all died," said Nguyen Sy Giap, head of the management board of communal cemetery. Pham Minh Tam said they tried to visit and clean the cemetery, but due to limited budget they have not been able to finish the job.