Mothers Grieve as Baby Graves are Disturbed in Zimbabwe Village
On Friday, grieving mothers in Zimbiru Village, Domboshava, Zimbabwe went to the village cemetery reserved for babies only to make a tragic discovery. Six of the baby graves had been disturbed, with the small caskets and remains removed.
The mothers were overcome with grief at the gravesides. Relatives tried to console them as they wept. One 43-year-old mother, Theresa Mashaya, who had buried her seven-month-old baby in July, took a shovel and tried to re-close the disturbed grave herself through her tears. Another father whose ten-day-old baby was buried on July 19th also re-closed the grave with a shovel, clearly distraught.
Villagers said some families had resorted to burying their babies at night. However, one villager told the newspaper H-Metro that night burials were against tradition and were a taboo. He had even questioned a family burying their baby at night just days before the graves were found opened. When graves, especially new ones, were discovered violated with just the scattered remains left behind, it seemed like a terrible case of ritual activity.
