For several years, community activists have been campaigning hard to improve conditions at a North London cemetery that has been the primary place of rest for British Turks since the 1960s.
The serious state of disrepair of graves and pathways at the privately-owned Tottenham Park Cemetery in Edmonton, along with a general lack of maintenance of the cemetery and allegations of illegal exhumations, has created significant concern and upset amongst many members of the Turkish community.
Friends and relatives of those buried resting at the cemetery located off Montague Road, have repeatedly captured photographic evidence that not only demonstrates the unsightly nature of the cemetery, but also that it poses a health and safety risk to visitors. However, individual complaints to the cemetery owners and the local authority appears to have fallen on deaf ears, with no visible improvements.
Graves at Tottenham Park-Cemetery are overrun with rubble and weeds, July 2017. Photo by Filiz Pirgot / Facebook
To combat the inaction, the Tottenham Park Charitable Trust (TPCT) has decided to call a public meeting to discuss the urgent issues affecting the cemetery and to better co-ordinate a community-wide campaign. The meeting will be hosted by Grand Banqueting Suite in Wood Green and is open to anyone who has family or friends buried at Tottenham Park Cemetery.
The Trust has appealed for a big turnout at the event, stating: “We now need YOUR support in seeking justice and respect for the Turkish/ Turkish Cypriots laid to rest at TPC & our community.”Rubble left by graves at Tottenham Park-Cemetery, Nov. 2017. Photo by Yusuf Osman / Facebook
Among those backing the TPCT campaign are Baroness Meral Ece, councillors Nick Halebi and Ertan Hurer, and local MPs including Enfield’s Joan Ryan and Edmonton’s Kate Osamor.
Graves at Tottenham Park-Cemetery are overrun with rubble and weeds, July 2017. Photo by Filiz Pirgot / Facebook
Rubble left by graves at Tottenham Park-Cemetery, Nov. 2017. Photo by Yusuf Osman / Facebook
