New York, Dec 5 (AFP/APP): A once off-limits, eroding island in New York where more than a million people are buried in unmarked mass graves dug by prisoners is about to become more accessible. For 150 years, unclaimed bodies, the poor, still-born children and AIDS victims have been laid to rest on the mile-long Hart Island, making it one of America’s largest public cemeteries. Often referred to as “island of the dead” or “jail for the dead,” the islet has for over a century been run by the prisons department, which heavily restricts access. Relatives are only allowed to visit on two designated days a month, while correctional officers escort media there just twice a year. AFP was on the most recent trip. “I don’t want somebody to tell me when I can visit my baby’s gravesite. I want to go when I want to go,” Elaine Joseph, 65, told AFP. Her daughter Tomika was just a few days old when she died in January 1978 after being born prematurely. Joseph wasn’t able to visit her burial place until 2014. Austerity — the backdrop to Britain’s ‘Brexit election’ Soon, the retired nurse will be able to pay her respects regularly … Continue reading New York’s ‘island of the dead’ to welcome more of the living