Brazil: Marilia’s grave cleaners

Cleaning work in the cemetery: With these activities, a mother and her daughter made nationwide fame in Brazil. Your reports on social media are celebrated – and supported with donations.

Jaqueline Alveres scrubs the yellowed black and white photo on the tombstone with devotion. The foamy cleaning water runs over the picture of a woman with a black hat who, according to the bronze plaque, died exactly 68 years ago in the Brazilian hinterland. Jaqueline also lovingly cleans and polishes the small statue of Christ on the grave slab. In addition, her mother, Debora, pours some water over the next grave in order to clean it as well.

Jaqueline has been cleaning the cemetery in the city of Marília in the state of São Paulo for twelve years. “When I started, I was 13. I had to help out because my mother was diagnosed with intestinal tuberculosis.” Since then, Debora has had to live with an artificial anus that can be seen under her T-shirt. Jaqueline therefore pushes the handcart with the water canister and basically does the heavy lifting. “The doctors say I mustn’t do any strenuous activities,” explains Debora de Oliveira.

A picture stimulates fantasies

Two years ago, Jaqueline had an idea: she put her cell phone on one of the grave slabs and hit record. The result was videos of their everyday work in the cemetery. Then she uploaded everything to Instagram. “Suddenly I got a lot of messages. People asked me if I had ever seen anything supernatural – for example ghosts or African gods. They think that the cemetery is haunted.”

So far, Jaqueline has not been able to talk about phantoms or demons, but she can tell about her working conditions. That it takes 15 minutes for a family grave to be clean and shiny. And that she earns the equivalent of five euros a month per grave. She also tells about the suffering she saw during the pandemic on Instagram. “There were an extraordinary number of funerals. It’s so sad. Many families had to bury Corona victims.”

On the way home they run past a graffiti next to the cemetery wall: “Away with Bolsonaro” someone sprayed there. Jaqueline is also critical of the pandemic management of Brazil’s head of state. He bought vaccines too late and repeatedly played down the virus.

Life from 120 euros a month

As the sun goes down, Jaqueline and Debora arrive with their handcart at their small apartment building, which stands unplastered on the edge of a mud road. Jaqueline’s father was an alcoholic and died a long time ago of cirrhosis of the liver. Since then, the two women have struggled.

In the cemetery they collectively earn the equivalent of 120 euros a month – at least in normal times. During the quarantine in the worst phase of the Corona crisis, your income collapsed, says Debora at the dinner table. “At that time, many customers had stopped their payments. Others, on the other hand, did not let us down and kept paying.”

Unexpected interest

At that time, Jaqueline’s Instagram channel “Gravestone Cleaning Lady” began to gain national recognition. Thousands of followers suddenly became interested in the 25-year-old with the rather scary job. She was interviewed by newspapers and television stations. This not only gave her further orders to clean graves, but also received donations for Jacqueline’s mother.

Because Debora has been waiting for an operation in the public health system for five years. “Our dream is that, with the help of donations from my mother, the artificial anus can be removed in a private hospital,” explains Jaqueline. “That would improve their difficult situation.”

Jaqueline herself doesn’t want to have to go to the cemetery by handcart forever. At some point she wanted to study, that was her personal dream. Until then, she will continue to report – from her work and everyday life as a cleaning lady in the cemetery.