[ad_1]
In GhanaIf a deceased had a long life, dying is a celebration; a party with hundreds of guests so entire families go into debt.
A few weeks ago, a video of a group of men dancing and carrying a coffin went viral, which catapulted this tradition to fame, although at the same time it became part of the famous memes that circulate on the internet and social networks.
The Covid-19 pandemic has nipped this rite in the bud, causing many relatives even prefer not to bury their own.
Ghanaian Kofi Mawutor lost his 30-year-old son in late March, and although his burial date remains set for May 2, the family still doubts whether go ahead with a modest funeral attended by few in attendance.
“We decided to bury him in May. We have to determine if it will be a private act as the day approaches, “Emil Agordzo, Mawutor’s uncle, told EFE.
Private service “does not honor anyone”
If they are not, the only option left is to delay the burial, since as a consequence of the global expansion of the coronavirus -which already has 1,100 cases in Ghana and around a dozen deaths- the Government does not allow more than 25 mourners for funeral rite.
“In our society, funerals bring families together. Those who are far and near unite in mourning with the afflicted family. A private burial cannot honor the deceased. It will be hard ”, meditates Agordzo.
Mawutor’s uncle is more used to saying goodbye to his loved ones in ceremonies with hundreds or even thousands of guests, which sometimes include showy offerings to the spirits of the ancestors, banquets, traditional dances and the rumbling of the drums that accompany the deceased on his last journey.
But this procedure violates the basic protocols of social distancing, ban on meetings, not shaking hands and the use of disinfectants that the Government and the World Health Organization (WHO) remember every minute.
Mawutor is not alone in the great dilemma of how to bury his son.
Gloria Alomele, whose husband died approximately a month ago from causes other than the coronavirus, faces a similar challenge, as the family of the deceased insists on holding an appropriate funeral to honor his memory.
“As far as I’m concerned, we can do a private burial (first) and celebrate the mass funeral rites later,” she concedes in the face of uncertainty about how long this pandemic will last, which has already caused almost 200,000 dead and about 2.8 million infected worldwide, at press time.
Collapsed morgues
The desire to celebrate burials in accordance with tradition – in mass events lasting from Friday to Sunday: since the body is removed from the morgue, veiled, buried and honored at a great banquet with orchestra and tent – is also causing another problem : the burial chambers of some hospitals are no longer sufficient.
According to EFE confirmed by medical sources from the Bono Regional Hospital in Sunyani (central-west), his mortuary is collapsed because many families refuse to pick up their own while waiting for the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 emergency to be lifted.
Ghanaians believe that you cannot have a funeral if you do not gather a large crowd. Therefore, nobody wants to come looking for their own and, for that reason, the morgue is full, ”explained the medical director of this clinic, Emmanuel Kofi Amponsah.
As a consequence, those who die from diseases other than the coronavirus – especially due to malaria and respiratory infections – have no place; which could lead to the hospital, according to Amponsah, compel families to take their loved ones home immediately after their death.
On April 20, the Ghanaian government lifted a three-week confinement in Accra and in the southern city of Kumasi, giving the green light to opening non-essential businesses but maintaining the ban on large congregations and the paralysis of schools.
Despite conducting more than 60,000 screening tests – in addition to maintaining an aggressive contact tracking strategy – at least 77% of Covid-19 cases were transmitted locally, according to the Ghana Health Service (GHS), authorities they remain concerned and cautious.
“It will not be the best way to do it,” Alomele lamented about the bland burial that, far from the values that have marked the Ghanaian culture since time immemorial, awaits her husband.
“It will be a very sad way to see him go and the loss will be even more painful. But since we do not know how long the measures announced by the Government will last, we cannot keep his body in the morgue forever, ”she settled resignedly.
[ad_2]
