Living with the Dead in the Philippines
101 East meets the residents of Manila’s cemeteries who have built lives and communities among the city’s dead.
In the Philippines, public cemeteries are home to not only the dead but to the living – providing thousands of families with an escape from the country’s overcrowded slums.
School classes are held inside a mausoleum, kids are flying kites and playing basketball in between graves, and families are sleeping on top of tombs and spending their days among the dead.
Despite the misgivings of local authorities, the communities in these graveyards have flourished, creating a practical culture where mausoleums double as homes and the dead are cared for and honoured rather than feared.
101 East meets the Filipinos who live among the dead.
Published On 4 Jan 2018