The quote  “The only two certainties in life are death and taxes” is attributed to US author Mark Twain. However, the original provenance of the saying comes from the book, Dancing devils – penned by Edward Ward in 1724, where he wrote: “Death and Taxes, they are certain”.

The argument is redundant, for the truth is what it is. The only things we can be certain of in life, are indeed death and taxes. Take it a bit further and in the modern world, we are even taxed when we die.

But this is besides the point. The issue we are dealing with here is the severe shortage of space that Malta is facing in terms of burial grounds.

As things stand, in Malta, you have the possibility of burial in an underground tomb, or burial at sea. The latter of which is seldom used.

But with space at a premium, our society needs to look at alternatives.

Demand for burial plots presently outstrips supply. At the same time, about 50 cemeteries are presently in use in Malta, while another 12 existing cemeteries are unused.

Cremation is perceived to be the most viable alternative option. Although there are no crematoria in the Maltese islands, a few cremations do take place abroad every year, with the ashes returned to Malta, although this process involves considerable transportation expenses. Cremation is becoming a more popular idea,  especially to foreigners living in Malta, who might want their ashes scattered both here and in their country of birth.

It is also becoming a topic of conversation in circles where people have travelled a lot and want their ashes scattered in the Ganges (just as an example). It is also a viable option for burial, as ashes take up a lot less space than graves, tombs or mausoleums.  Some people might even opt for their ashes to be scattered in the sea.

It is becoming clear that the people of Malta will accept it and a crematorium should be built, sooner rather than later.

Another method being considered to achieve the same effect is freezing corpses in liquid nitrogen and using pressure to fragment it into dust. Yet another method being studied is using chemical baths to dissolve tissue and result in breakdown. It is all very morbid, but it must all be considered nonetheless. We have one of the densest populations in the world and our burial grounds are reaching saturation point. We cannot have half the island covered in massive headstones over family tombs. A solution must be found and we must start implementing it now rather than later. People have differing feelings on what should be done with our remains, but there is consensus across the board – graves cannot be the only final resting place.