2023-03-31

BRUSSELS - Unknown is unloved, especially when it comes to liberal funerary heritage. Gravestones of freethinkers and other "sinners" have been neglected, forgotten or simply disappeared. And yet, things can be different. Three stories about "dog corners," the neglected memorial of the co-founder of Het Laatste Nieuws and columbaria gnawed by concrete rot illustrate the issue.

Time is running out. Valuable heritage is disappearing, experts say. We can't preserve everything, but now too much is in danger of being lost out of ignorance and indifference. Many shrug their shoulders, including liberal ones. Other communities seem much more awake to their heritage. We need to make the social diversity that exists today much more visible in cemeteries as well.

©Dieter Telemans

Peter-Jan Bogaert

Peter Jan Bogaert (b. 1970) is a freelance journalist.
Peter Jan Bogaert
€2.300 allocated on 08/12//2023.
ID
FPD/2022/1994