Opinion

Graveyard destruction sickening

INCIDENTS OF vandalism in cemeteries are nothing new in this country. However when they do occur such acts of destruction strike a chord with the wider population.

People who destroy headstones and surrounds of graves are probably acting in the often referred to 'mindless' way. They are almost certainly not directly targetting particular graves or memorials but simply destroying something.

That will be of little consequence to the relatives of people interred in a Strabane graveyard which was targetted at the weekend.

Several people took to social media over the weekend after they discovered that graves of loved ones had been damaged.

It is clear from their postings that these people regard these incidents as attacks on their loved ones, not just on the place in which they were buried.

Cemeteries are wide open spaces. They are fairly easy to access and virtually impossible to protect. In the past they have been used by gangs of young people to drink in and on occasions one Belfast burying ground was used by gangs to launch attacks on passing cars and the police.

Because graveyards are so hard to protect it is important that whoever carries out such attacks realise that it is not just concrete and marble they are destroying. They are hurting the feelings of people who regard what has happened as desecration.

Sadly some people who do such vile things will probably not worry too much about the feelings of others. Hopefully they will be apprehended. If they cannot be appealed to then they should be punished to deter themselves and others from carrying out more such attacks.