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Covid-19 dead and burials: Religious belief or right?

20 Dec 2020

In the backdrop of a country struggling to get into the festive mood amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, serious concerns are being raised about the mandatory cremation of deceased Covid patients.   While the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirms that cremation is not essential, the Sri Lankan Government has continued to cremate the Covid dead of all faiths, disregarding the religious practices of the Muslim and Christian communities of the country.   This decision sparked a great deal of controversy amongst Sri Lankans, and as such, we spoke to some members of the public to obtain their views on the issue.  

The decision is appalling  

[caption id="attachment_109811" align="alignright" width="392"] Citizens tying white cloths in their hometowns and homes in protest of the forced cremation of the Covid-19 dead[/caption]

K.Anthony

 

Like most decisions taken by the Government, this is a decision that favours only some members of society and disregards the minorities. We are asked to keep aside our faith as this is a matter of public health, even though the WHO has stated that burying the Covid-19 dead will not pose a threat to public health. It is appalling, and there is nothing else to say about this except that we wish for a day when every Sri Lankan is safe and respected in this country    

It is racist and Islamophobic

Yasodhara Pathanjali – artist   There is no reason to even debate this. The WHO has mandated burial. Covid patients are using our public water systems, so the nonsensical pseudoscience that is informing the decision-makers can only be described as racist and Islamophobic. It does not merely "affect" Sri Lankan human rights – it annihilates it. It shows that we do not consider all people as equal in the eyes of the law and government. It's fundamentally wrong.  

Burial will create problems

Nilan de Soysa   Cremation is preferred as it is the best way to get rid of the virus. It is also environmentally better. Burial will affect groundwater quality and give rise to more chances of the virus multiplying underground. The land will also be claimed by the relatives. Hence, burial will create unwarranted problems.  

We are stopped by small-mindedness

Shehani Amarasinghe – university student   There is a common assumption in society that people who died of a communicable disease should be cremated to prevent further spread of the disease through the groundwater, etc. However, the WHO has given the green light to go ahead with burials, so we shouldn’t be stopped by our small-mindedness, ideologies, and racial inferiority complexes.  

Lankans turning it into cultural/racial issue

Nimasha Dias – receptionist   While we are struggling to put the economy back together after the big hit from the first and second Covid-19 waves, the last thing we need is a debate about how to dispose the bodies of deceased Covid patients. Sri Lankans are pretty good at turning everything into a cultural or racial issue. This is what is happening here. What we have to do right now is to get together and find a way to overcome this as a country. Covid doesn’t discriminate based on race and religion.  

 

Govt. should do what is right

Priyanka Kumudu – housewife   There are WHO guidelines stating that cremation is only a cultural choice and something a state could do based on their resources. There is nothing against burying deceased Covid patients. This is a national crisis right now, and if the majority of our society does not feel safe with the burial of bodies, then the Government should take steps to do what is right and make the people feel safe.    

Muslims deserve to be treated with respect

Ismail Amir – attorney-at-law   I believe that, if there is no life threat according to the WHO, there is no need for a debate about this. Sri Lankan Muslims deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and be buried in accordance with the requirements of their faith. Also the safety and health needs of those who are living should be met. All this should happen in their home country.

 

Deep-seated racism governs every political aspect in SL

Udayasiri – grocery store owner

  Human rights can be informally defined as the rights of an individual to act/ be served unless it violates the rights of another being. Humans, as social beings, have rights that are of limited scope because they overlap with the rights of other individuals and therefore, should be exercised with caution and responsibility, in my opinion. Human rights is an integral, fundamental principle upheld in democratic societies and usually can be used as a parameter to measure the "health of a society". In this situation, however, we are told by competent authorities that burial of bodies does not pose a threat to the health of society. So then what is stopping us from allowing our Muslim citizens the right to bury their bodies according to their faith? It is a result of the deep-seated racism that governs every political aspect of our country. I believe it is time for everyone to step up, put our differences and opinions aside, and do what is right in this time of crisis.

Majority of public successfully exploited by Govt.

Student of the University of Peradeniya, Science Faculty   The WHO and the many countries permitting the burial of the victims are saying it can be done. Therefore, the only valid excuse we in Sri Lanka would have for not burying the Covid dead would be the presence of high water levels in the soil that would spread the virus through the water. However, is that the case in Sri Lanka? Can this virus spread through water bodies? I leave it to the people of knowledge. I think, the "question of burial" gives us important insights into the functionality of a society recovering from a history of communal tensions. This conflict is the rotting consequence of a corrupt, decomposing people – government and also people (because they let their emotions rule over their intellect). The only way to solve this issue is to respect the rights of individuals. The healthcare authorities and people responsible for it should make a decision based on facts rather than their emotions, so that all parties can have an acceptable, fair outcome. This “problem of burying” gives remarkably clear insight into the functioning of the Government – a government incapable of sensing the precarious financial situation of the country; a government whose only achievement is protecting the corrupt. Such a government needs a scapegoat that will divert the public’s attention – that scapegoat is the ethnic minorities, and it seems to work. And the acceptance of such a scapegoat by society affirms the dislocated, fragmented nature of our society, which is successfully exploited by the Government to achieve its ends. So much so that the majority of the public are more than ready to praise the Government for preventing the burying of the Covid-19 dead than criticise them for it.    

Duty of Govt. to protect citizens’ rights

Perera – marketing manager

I believe the issue of burial of Covid bodies is now purely a matter of human rights, and it is the duty of the authorities and the Government to protect the rights of all sections of society. I hope the right decisions are taken to help us get out of this Covid mess.   Photo Twitter 


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