Even dying in Cuba is a problem. The Artemisa cemeteries do not have space to bury more dead, confirmed this Thursday to the artemiseño the provincial director of Community Services, Leticia Romero Cisnero. The official assured that there are no vehicles available to transport the mortal remains, so families must look for private alternatives or wait endless hours until the hearse arrives.
The newspaper takes up the “bitter experience” of Beatriz Márquez, from Artemisa, who a year ago faced an odyssey to say goodbye to her grandmother, not only because of the usual transport delays, but also because of the lack of “drawers” available for the burial.
At the funeral home, he handed over the death certificate so that the hearse could pick up the remains. “I saw him leave,” she says, but he did not arrive. When he inquired at the office, they told him that he had scheduled a trip to Caimito first and then to Bauta. “I was at home with my grandmother for four hours,” she recalls, to which was added the lack of “options” to bury her, according to the authorities.
the artemiseño recognizes that stories like Márquez’s are becoming more frequent due to the “deficit” of space. The director of Community Services explained that the saturation in the cemeteries is due to the accelerated aging of the Cuban population and also to the increase in mortality during the covid-19 pandemic.
Romero assured that in 2021 new niches were built to “alleviate” the problem, but they were not enough. The Communal spaces are rented for two years and, after that period, an exhumation of the remains must be carried out, but the director complained that this policy is not applied nor is it among the requirements of the funeral homes.
Comunales explained that the saturation in the cemeteries is due to the accelerated aging of the Cuban population and also to the increase in mortality during the pandemic.
He explained that “since the relatives did not come to claim the remains of a person who died from dissimilar causes, the funeral home grants itself the right to transfer the remains to an ossuary.” Another of the “misfortunes”, he added, is that the company has, since 2006, only one vehicle for burials, and that, “no matter how much they fix it, many times it doesn’t work.”
The official acknowledged that Communales has a poor service and should be improved, but refused to assume any responsibility and said that “nobody is to blame for the shortcomings,” as well as that the institution’s workers are “committed.”
Juan Permuy Felipe, mayor of Artemisa, assured that 130 people were buried ashore in 2021, victims of the coronavirus, which led to the collapse of the city cemetery. Given the saturation, that year 90 new compartments divided into three sections were built, each with a capacity for 30 tombs, while for 2023 the construction of 150 additional spaces is planned.
Neighbors have also complained about the contamination in the air due to the current location of the chimney of the remains incinerator.
It was expected that a MSME delivered the first vaults on April 28, but it was “impossible” due to the lack of cement. Neighbors have also complained about the contamination in the air due to the current location of the chimney of the remains incinerator, for which the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment has demanded that it be moved to another location within the cemetery.
The Artimiseño He also cites Valentín Cordero Pérez, director of Production and Services of the Provincial Communal Company, who lamented the “ridiculous” figure of the budget for the maintenance of municipal cemeteries, barely 11,000 pesos. The official pointed out that the cemeteries do not even have retaining walls, which has caused the “desecration of graves.”
“The furniture of the bone remains incinerator has been stored since 2013, but it was never microlocated in Artemisa. In the same way, no project or budget has been approved for the corpse incinerator, despite the fact that the Acinox company has conceived one,” he explained.
The Communal Services of the province have 14 vehicles, but of those only seven work. “What do we do? Send the closest and most available one,” said Cordero Pérez, who acknowledged that just as in some cases it can take 30 minutes, in others it takes two hours.
Meanwhile, the provincial newspaper added, Cuban families have resorted to buying and selling vaults between individuals to alleviate “the urgent need to find eternal rest for a loved one.”
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio He is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for accompanying us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time making you a member of our newspaper. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
