International threats prompt one nation to hunt for … cemetery space
'War could happen and we simply need to be prepared for that'
Over the last couple of years there has been an explosion of instability around the world. Multiple armed conflicts now rage, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict which has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, a war that has triggered a realignment of interests as several nations have opted to join NATO.
There’s also the violence in the Middle East that resulted from the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel just over a year ago, and the thousands dead there.
Further, there’s been China’s saber-rattling over what territory it wants to take over, and other conflicts that are taking human lives, including armed conflict across Africa.
Critics of Joe Biden blame his weakness on the international stage for the surging loss of life, as the conflicts mostly erupted after he took office, and President-elect Donald Trump has committed to working to end them quickly.
But the results are uncontested: Up to one million deaths in the Russia-Ukraine conflict alone.
And that threat has prompted one nation, Sweden, one of the new NATO members, to begin hunting for cemetery space.
A report at the Independent explains burial associations there, which have a legal responsibility for maintaining resources for the nation, are trying to acquire “enough land for something they hope they’ll never have to do: bury thousands of people killed in war.”
The report explains the hunt for available land follows recommendations of the Church of Sweden’s national secretariat and reflect crisis preparedness guidelines from the national Civil Contingencies Agency as well as the Swedish military, the report said.
The report specifically cited Sweden’s decision to join NATO, through which it would be defended by other members and also be called upon to defend them, and “tensions with Russia.”
The nation’s Burial Act”requires associations to have enough land to bury about 5% of the population within any parish, if needed.
The Independent explained the Goteborg Burial Association, in Sweden’s second-largest city, now is hunting for at least 10 acres to handle the casket burials of some 30,000 “in case of war.” That’s in addition to hunting for another 15 acres for ordinary use.
Goteborg Association spokeswoman Katarina Evenseth said, “The (recommendations) mean that we need more land for burial grounds and this is a phenomenon in the big cities, and a problem in the big cities, where land resources are scarce to begin with and not always sufficient to meet burial ground needs even in times of calm and peace.”
The long-neutral nation also has ramped up efforts for crisis preparedness.
“Back in 2015 the government assigned various authorities to once again start engaging in civil defense planning, and many organizations have started planning, with the Church of Sweden being at the forefront of that planning,” said Jan-Olof Olsson, an expert on infrastructure protection.
“Unfortunately it is the case that we are reminded to a greater degree that war could happen and that we simply need to be prepared for that,” Olsson said.
Sweden’s adherence to neutrality shift sharply in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. Sweden and Finland both opted then to pursue NATO entrance.
Both nations just weeks ago updated preparedness instructions.
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