Features
Stop milking the dead!
- /home/u249204778/domains/spectator.com.gh/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 27
https://spectator.com.gh/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/The-Dead-Pix.jpg&description=Stop milking the dead!', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
- Share
- Tweet /home/u249204778/domains/spectator.com.gh/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 72
https://spectator.com.gh/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/The-Dead-Pix.jpg&description=Stop milking the dead!', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
The famous President Nelson Mandela of South Africa once said, “Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace.” These are words from a man who surely knew his purpose in life. Nobody on this earth created by the Almighty God will live forever. At a point in time, you will be called to eternity to give an account of your stewardship on this earth. This, therefore, presupposes that when you are alive, you have to be righteous and committed to the Almighty God, the Creator and Maker of heaven and earth who our lives depend on.
TREATING THE DEAD WITH DIGNITY
The lexicon explains that death is an inevitable universal process that eventually occurs in all living organisms including humans and it generally applies to whole organisms such as cells and tissues. The overriding duty to treat the dead with dignity is by ensuring that the body of the dead person is well preserved in the mortuary, while preparations are made to provide a befitting burial to the deceased in a way that may not lead to serious life threatening conditions to the people.
KEEPING DEAD BODIES IN MORTUARIES FOR YEARS
In the Ghanaian setting, most of the dead bodies, especially traditional leaders and other influential personalities in the society are usually not buried for months and sometimes up to so many years by their families for inexplicable reasons. Sometimes, these dead bodies are kept in the morgue for a very long period with some families contemplating over who should be appointed as chief mourners or organisers to handle the funeral arrangements or due to disputes over when and where to bury the corpses. In most cases, these litigations finally end up in law courts with injunctions preventing families from moving their dead bodies from the mortuaries. Some elders will even go to the extent of ensuring that new buildings are put up to lay their deceased relatives. These unnecessary litigations over funeral and burial arrangements, often put financial burdens on the children of the deceased persons who have to move heaven and earth to raise the needed funds to pay for the mortuary fees. The inconveniences placed on their children are outrageous and unimaginable. The sad situation is that the families who are litigating over the funeral arrangements will never contribute a dime to support the children of the deceased
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF A RENOWNED JOURNALIST
This piece will not end properly without taking some extracts from the thoughts of the renowned veteran BBC journalist of high repute Madam Elizabeth Ohene about the era before the emergence of mortuary in our country. According to her, before mortuaries became popular in this country, we buried our dead bodies within two or three days and then set a date for the final funeral rites. Now the regular period in which dead body is kept in the mortuary before being buried ranges from three to six months. Ten months to a year is not unheard of. When you try to bury someone within a period that is regarded as “too early”, you are certain to invoke outrage, the veteran prolific writer concluded. She recounted her own experience involving the death of her 90-year- old mother who was buried after three weeks of her death and that was regarded in her village as sacrilege and lack of respect to their beloved mother and blamed the Ghanaian funeral madness on refrigeration saying, “Without fridges, we would not be able to keep bodies for ludicrously long period we currently do”. We need to shake ourselves from the brainwash of the white man and do things that will minimise cost and burden of handling the dead so that we can use our money wisely and judiciously. Indeed, there is dignity after death and we have to jealously and modestly protect the sanctity of the human remains.
parents.
LAVISH TREATMENT OF DEAD BODIES AND COST INVOLVED
This lavish treatment of some of these dead bodies by some families has given room for the handlers, both at the mortuaries and the cemeteries, to also charge exorbitantly to preserve the bodies well for a very long time in the fridge before their removal. The grave diggers also demand their share before covering the dead bodies properly. If you cannot afford, then your corpse will be put aside to rot. The fact is that our mortuaries and cemeteries have been turned into commercial entities by workers of these places who engage in dubious undercover deals at the expense of the dead and the bereaved families. Passing through the right channels in these places means you don’t want your deceased relatives to get the necessary attention. The sort of corrupt practices at our mortuaries and cemeteries, especially in our major towns and cities are, indeed, unbearable and disgraceful. The state is being denied huge sums of money through these illegal practices at the final resting places of the dead.
WORK OF MORTUARY ATTENDANTS
It is a fact that not everyone can work at our public mortuaries and those working in these places deserve some sort of recognition and better remuneration and other service conditions. However, because the state is
not providing them with that kind of support, they have, therefore, capitalised on the situation to do their own thing at the place and nobody can begrudge them for the back-door treatment. But some families are suffering due to their inability to pay for these illegal charges from these mortuary attendants. The problem can also be blamed on families who decide to keep their dead bodies for a very long time in our mortuaries while they litigate on the funeral arrangements. Their unnecessary actions of delaying their corpses in the morgue, have placed heavy burden on those who cannot afford these illegal charges. They have the means to pay anything through the back-door and don’t care what happens to anybody.
EMERGENCE OF COVID 19 AND HANDLING OF DEAD BODIES
With the emergence of the Corona Virus Disease in the country which had claimed the lives of innocent people and had brought miseries to many families, the thinking was that people would capitalise on the situation to bury their dead bodies in good time so that the funeral could be scheduled for a later date. However, the situation has rather worsened. As the disease rages on, people continue to keep their deceased relatives in the fridge for a very long time and that has not been a good sign at all. Ghanaians in general revere their dead persons. However, the way and manner we spend huge sums of money on funerals in this country is not healthy and uncalled for. The so-called ‘gbonyo’ party which runs from the day of the burial up to Sunday, the day of the thanksgiving and memorial service is something we need to take a second look at. Families and children of deceased persons without the means to organise such hilarious and lavish funerals often go and borrow money and eventually become debtors after the funeral. It will be of interest to know that when the person was sick or ill nobody offered the necessary funds to cater for his or her medical expenses, however, money can be raised to organise such glamorous funeral. It is a question of encouraging people to die so that people can be happy and rejoice?
Charles Neequaye
Some things do not change in this country. The rains shall fall in May, and June and even July. That is out of our control. It is an act of God and he decides how often and the intensity. Who are we to question God?
However, there is something man-made that is gradually becoming something that is also not changing and it is worrying. A week ago the President initiated a national clean up campaign to address the issue of sanitation in the country, especially in Accra.
Citizens enthusiastically got involved and engaged in cleaning their environment and other places but afterwards, the issue that is becoming a permanent feature resisting change, reared its ugly head again.
The rubbish and the silt that were dug out of the drains, were heaped on the shoulders of the drains and left there. Any little rain will render the whole effort futile because the rubbish and silt will be washed right back into the drains.
This is what is not changing in the country and the various assemblies must ensure that this issue is dealt with and must become a thing of the past.
There is the need to engage the citizenry across board, in connection with mindset change, as far as sanitation is concerned. At this juncture, I must acknowledge the thoughtful initiative of the current crop of Abenfo (i.e. students both present and past) of SUTESCO of Suhum, with support of the school administration for decorating the area under the overpass on the Accra Kumasi highway, near the school, with fascinating paintings. This is an example worthy of emulation and makes me proud as one of the Abenfo.
An example not worthy of emulation is an eyesore currently existing behind a cemetery along the Atta Mills link as you branch left, off the main Accra-Cape Coast road at Old barrier and head towards the beach through Aplaku, Bortianor, Oshiyie, Korobite through to Tuba and beyond.
The drain along the walls of the cemetery also lying astride the road, is choked with silt and rubbish. This has created a problem near the end of the cemetery wall just before you enter Bortianor.
Water has accumulated at that point, creating potholes and also gradually creating a channel across the road, creating a nightmare for motorists using that route. This route is the main link between parts of Kasoa and the Accra – Cape Coast road and whenever it rains and the Atala stretch of the road is blocked, that is the route most motorists from Kasoa uses.
It is also the route used by tourists going to the beaches along the sea of the towns stretching from Bortianor to Kokrobite and so it does not speak well of us, as a nation at all.
A few days ago, I had to pass through Tema Station, the place where a major clean up exercise was conducted just fews days ago and it was very shocking to see the level of wanton littering that had taken place.
One begins to wonder if this whole exercise initiated by the President was worth it. People just do not care and are not willing to change their attitude towards sanitation.
We cannot continue like this and to win this battle against insanitary conditions in our environment, the NCCE must be resourced to embark on a serious educational drive. The MMDCEs must also be held accountable for sanitation lapses in their administrative areas, by making sanitation part of their KPIs among other innovative policies. This is one of the surest ways to overcome this sanitation challenge confronting us. God bless.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
THE discussion lasted only ten minutes. Mr Philip Sampson, Eunice’s father, had asked to see him, and he was led to the sitting room for the first time. Mr Sampson indicated that he should sit down.
‘Yes, Kakraba. I know that you have been, er, friends with Eunice for some months now, and naturally, as her father, I thought it would be important to meet you, and to reach an understanding with you on, er, some basic issues. So, I hear you are a graduate in building technology. Now, tell me about what you do’.
‘Okay. I worked with the Electricity Company for two years after National Service. During that time I interacted with some lawyers and land surveyors on our project sites, so I suggested to some of them that we take some dilapidated buildings in some parts of Accra, rehabilitate them and find new owners. Soon after starting that I got a job as Project Manager with a group of development agencies who are executing projects in the Northern Region, so I have been balancing the two positions’.
‘I see. That sounds like a bold step. So is it going well, financially?’
‘Well, sir, I absolutely enjoy what I’m doing now. Financially, I would only say that I am a work in progress. A lot of what I’m doing now involves some risk taking, as it involves trust issues with land and property owners.
I am partnering with prominent lawyers and land surveyors, so I am not taking any serious risks. So currently I am doing okay financially, but it will take me some time before I reach the level where I can say I am comfortable financially.’
‘Okay. Now tell me about your parents’.
‘My father was an Agricultural Extension Officer, so we spent some time at several locations with him. He is now enjoying his retirement. And my mother is a retired nurse. I have three elder sisters, all married’.
‘So you live with your parents?’
‘Yes and no. My dad built his home on one acre at Pokuase, so he gave me one plot, and I have done a three-bedroom house, where I live’.
‘Okay, fine. Thanks for the answers. You see, in addition to my position socially, I spent many years in the diplomatic service, so I’m sure you will understand that I need to ensure that my kids, especially my daughters, maintain suitable relationships. For now I think it is fine that you and Eunice are friends. I’m sure you understand what I mean’.
‘Yes sir. I understand perfectly well.’
‘Great, okay, that would be all.’
Kakraba stood up, bowed and said thank you to Mr Sampson, and walked to the garden where his girlfriend Eunice, her mother Mrs Elaine Sampson and her two elder sisters, Yvonne and Emma, were seated, busily discussing some dresses being offered for sale online.
‘So,’ Mrs Elaine asked him, ‘you and Daddy had a good discussion?’
‘Yes, Ma. We certainly did. I really appreciate Dad for the discussion. It was really good.’
‘Great. Although he has met you here on quite a number of occasions, I think it is good that you have met for a chat.’
‘Yes indeed, Ma, and I really appreciate it. So Eunice, I will be on my way. I will call.’
Eunice led him to his car, and after driving off he exhaled and shook his head. Although he had long concluded that Eunice’s family were so snobbish that a future relationship with her would be problematic, this discussion, or was it interrogation, had virtually cancelled any likelihood.
Mr Sampson just told him, in no uncertain terms, that the Sampson family was so prominent and socially connected that a union between his daughter and him was undesirable.
He had a good relationship with Eunice. They shared some beautiful moments together, and often went out to entertainment joints, often with her three friends Marian, Patricia and Amanda. But Kakraba was often uncomfortable with their preferences.
Eunice regularly spoke about her family’s experiences during her father’s postings in Europe and Asia, and her three friends were always discussing the latest fashion trends, always noting the importance of placing themselves among the best-dressed ladies in town.
Eunice, her mother and siblings had indicated in several ways that he did not quite fit into their social standing. They had only said a mild ‘thank you’ when he brought them a goat or sheep and a generous amount of foodstuffs from the north every month.
But Kakraba did not really take it to heart, because they were quite inexpensive up north. Moreover, he always went to the food market and arranged with the truck drivers for a big package which was picked up by his buddy Paa John and delivered to his family and a few others, including the Sampsons.
By Ekow de Heer
