At the Zuider Cemetery on the Slinge, Borsten walks in from a distance. It is a sunny day. This cemetery is about 23 hectares large, which is equivalent to about 32 football fields. Here, over 13 thousand people are buried, the largest number of all cemeteries in Rotterdam. We ensure that we always have spots “in stock,” so that people can get a final resting place here at any time.

‘It went differently than expected’

This has now been Borstens regular workplace for 2 years. Before that, he was a garbage collector, also with the municipality. After 5 years, I wanted something different. So I applied for the position of burial employee. At that time, I thought the position entailed something very different. I thought I was going to maintain the grounds. Trimming hedges, mowing the grass, and more of that sort of thing.

‘Nice surprise’

Once in the interview, I heard that it was about digging (excavating, ed.) the spot where the grave will be and closing it again after the funeral. Guiding funerals is also part of the job. I actually found that surprise nice. My wife and sister work at a crematorium and they told me how beautiful and valuable this work is. People really look forward to the day of a funeral. You can mean a lot to them. 

How deep should the grave be?

This work is very varied, every day is different. In the morning I dig a grave, in the afternoon I lead a funeral service, close the grave, and tidy everything around the funeral. Just now, a funeral director called about a funeral on Friday. This afternoon, my colleagues, together with the funeral director and the family, will choose a spot. Then I get a note with the location and depth of the grave: is it for one or two people, and is it the intention that more relatives will be buried in the same spot later.

Modest and neutral

At one moment, Borsten digs a grave, at another moment he changes clothes and is the host of a funeral service. This is not necessarily the service for which he previously dug the grave. I receive the people in the hall, start the music at the right moment, and show the visual material on the screen. Then I walk to the grave. I present myself modestly and neutrally. I do not know, for example, what the person died of. I do not need to know that. I just have to ensure that the funeral goes well.

Burning fake money 

No funeral is the same; each culture and family gives it their own interpretation. People of Chinese descent perform ritual burnings and burn fake money, for example. At Islamic funerals, women often stay at a distance, while the men close the grave themselves. I always try to contribute to a beautiful funeral, for example by walking a route along blooming chestnut trees or linden trees.

Being buried alone

When asked how Borsten experiences the funerals, he says: Some funerals affect me more deeply than others. When it comes to children who have only lived a few years, I find that particularly emotional. There are parents who come to the grave and cry even 10 years after their childs death. Someone who is buried without attendees, such as family, affects me the most. This concerns deceased persons who have been found. Then there is only a funeral director with coffin bearers, a predecessor, and a city poet present. I find that worse than if 100 people are standing around.

‘Seize the day’ 

No matter how emotional a funeral can be for people, as soon as Borsten rides out through the gate, he leaves the work behind him. Seize the day and enjoy the things you do, because before you know it, it could be your last. That thought I carry with me.

More information 

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