Tunisia Opens Cemetery For Mediterranean Migrants

A cemetery for migrants who drown in the Mediterranean while trying to reach Europe has been formally opened in the southern Tunisian town of Zarzis.

It is already half full.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the head of the UN’s cultural agency Unesco spoke of an “unfolding tragedy”.

Audrey Azoulay paid tribute to what she called the “castaways who perished in pursuit of a better life”.

Many buried at the site, called the Garden of Africa, were unidentified, and have no name on their headstones.

They lie in graves surrounded by olive trees, vines and sculptures.

The Algerian artist who funded and designed the cemetery said he wanted to give those who were brought there a “first taste of paradise”.

“I wanted to help the families get closure and for them to know that there is a place for a dignified burial” of their loved ones, the AFP news agency quotes Rachid Koraichi as saying.