Beth Haim Cemetery, One Of The Oldest Jewish Tombs, Stands In Blenheim, Curacao

In this Nov. 12, 2012 photo, a portion of the Beth Haim cemetery, backdropped by the Isla oil refinery, is seen in Blenheim, on the outskirts of Willemstad, Curacao. Beth Haim, believed to be one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in the Western Hemisphere, established in the 1650s and considered an important landmark on an island where the historic downtown has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is slowly fading in the Caribbean sun. Headstones are pockmarked with their inscriptions faded, stone slabs that have covered tombs in some cases for hundreds of years are crumbling into the soil, marble that was once white is now grey, likely from the acrid smoke that spews from the oil refinery that looms nearby.

In this Nov. 12, 2012 photo, tombs in the Beth Haim cemetery are back dropped by the Isla oil refinery in Blenheim, on the outskirts of Willemstad, Curacao. <AP Photo/Karen Attiah>