Africans in the UK cope to send relatives' bodies home
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| Some bodies waiting to be repatriated end up sitting in the morgue for months |
Ms
Elbhiri, who was born and raised in west London, fulfilled her father's dream
when she repatriated his body to Morocco last year, where he was laid to rest
in Larache, a small fishing village in the north of the country.
"London
was always his home but Morocco was always in his heart," she says.
This
desire to be buried in the place you were born is strong for many first
generation African migrants in the UK.
The
demand is so huge among the British Moroccan community that, according to
embassy officials, at least 95% of first generation migrants are buried in
Morocco.
A
system is now in place to cover repatriation costs.
"There are
three Moroccan banks which provide free repatriation and a free plane ticket
for a relative to assist the transportation of the body back to Morocco,"
says Souad Talsi from the Council for the Moroccan Community Abroad.
She
says that if the deceased person is not registered with a Moroccan bank, his or
her next of kin can go to the Moroccan embassy and the government will take care
of the repatriation charges which can cost around £7,000 ($10,500).
But for many African
communities in the UK, there is often no official financial support and many
families struggle to meet the costs.
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| Londoner Nadia Elbhiri fulfilled her father's wish for his body to be sent from the UK to Morocco when he died |
'Very stressful'
Ebenezer
Commodore found it tough repatriating his uncle's body back to Ghana this year.
Despite
the uncle having lived in London for at least 30 years, Mr Commodore's family
put him under pressure to fly the body home.
"My
uncle's mother rang me and said: 'Bring my son's body back home'. There was no
way I was going to argue with the head of the family. You just can't."
So
he had to find ways to raise the funds.
Mr Commodore
eventually came up with $7,500, and his uncle's body was sent home for burial.
In
cases like this, many in the diaspora have to keep their loved one's body in a
morgue for several months, until there is enough money.
"This
waiting is very stressful for those who have cultures where burial needs to
take place quickly," says Fortune Huruva, who coordinates the Zimbabwean
Burial Community in Manchester city in northern England.
Mr Huruva helped set
up the society last year due to a high demand from Zimbabweans living across
the UK who are desperately trying to send bodies home.
"We
found cases of people isolated when they lost someone and they were in despair
over how to get the money."
He
says many will only get closure when their loved ones are buried in Zimbabwe.
"This
also affects the extended family in Zimbabwe as they are the ones who will look
after the graves."
But
the emotional stress, financial costs and family pressures are so high when it
comes to repatriation, that some in the diaspora wonder whether it is really
worth it.
"It's
a waste of money," says Junior Chankira.
The
40-year old, who was living with her husband Martin in Manchester for 16 years,
repatriated his body back to Zimbabwe in 2014.
"If
Martin was buried here I would visit his grave every week but now I can't. I
come home to an empty flat all for what? For tradition?"
Ms
Chankira says that if she had children she would have been able to fight
against her husband's family's wish, but she gave in due to emotional stress.
"Our
families back home need to understand that our lives are in the UK now. I know
when I die, I will see Martin again, regardless of where I am buried."
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| Coffins are loaded onto planes before passengers' luggage |
How to repatriate a
body from the UK
§
When the person dies, the funeral
director will liaise with the coroner to get a "free from infection"
certificate and an embalming certificate
§
A loved one provides the
deceased's passport or a photocopy of it
§
The coroner establishes the cause
of death before authorising the release of the body
§
The undertakers collect the body
from the hospital morgue, weigh and embalm it
§
The family provides clothes for
the body or it is dressed in a white gown
§
Documentation is obtained from
the country it is going to and then the flight is booked
§
The funeral directors take the
body to the airport in a coffin lined with zinc which creates a hermetic seal
§
When the coffin arrives at the
airport, the airline take it as priority
§
The coffin goes through a private
entry
§
The coffin is X-rayed and goes
through security checks
§
The travel company pick up the
coffin from a private area at the airport
§
The coffin boards the plane
first, before all the luggage
§
At the destination a local
ambulance picks up the body
§
Families can check it is the
correct body through a window in the coffin
