1,937 People Who Died Unclaimed in Los Angeles During Pandemic Buried in Unmarked Mass Grave
Among the deceased were children as well as immigrants whose families may not be aware that they have passed away
Los Angeles County buried the cremated remains of almost 2,000 people Thursday in a single mass grave.
Among the deceased were children as well as immigrants whose families may not be aware that they have passed away, according to County Supervisor Janice Hahn.
The individuals, made up of those who were homeless or who do not have known family members able to claim their bodies, died in 2020, in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, KTLA reported.
Held at the Los Angeles County Crematorium Cemetery in Boyle Heights, the Ceremony of the Unclaimed Dead has been an annual tradition since 1896.
Leaders from multiple faith groups participated in the first in-person sendoff since the pandemic, meant to act as a compassionate memorial service for those who weren't privileged to have a private funeral.
The county holds onto remains for three years before they are buried so that loved ones have a chance to identify and claim them.
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Staffers at the L.A. General Medical Center work to reconnect loved ones with the remains of their family members. The 1,937 people who were buried represent those for whom no loved ones could be located.
The tradition ensures that "everyone in Los Angeles County, no matter their means, is laid to rest with respect and dignity, to recognize the lives and mourn the deaths of people who are complete strangers to us, but who are worthy of recognition," Hahn said.
The 2020 figures were slightly higher than 2019, when some 1,600 bodies went unclaimed.
The practice of burying unidentified individuals in mass graves is common in cities across the country, although the way those remains are handled has often been a subject of contentious debate.
New York City's Hart Island holds the remains of more than 1 million people, including victims of the AIDS epidemic.
In March 2021, the New York Times estimated that about one-in-ten New Yorkers who died of the coronavirus ended up buried in the potter's field. Until the pandemic, inmate crews were tasked with burying New York's dead, a practice that activists have condemned.
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