The Cuban Foreign MinisterBruno Rodriguez Grill, offered public apologies to the government of Canada and to the family of a citizen of that country who died in Cuba, after mistakenly repatriating the body of another person, of Russian origin.
Rodríguez Parrilla personally communicated his apologies to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada,Melanie Joly, describing the incident as an "unfortunate mistake."
"I spoke by telephone with the chancellorMelanie Joly for the unfortunate incident in the transfer of remains of a Canadian citizen who died in Cuba. Cuban authorities are investigating the incident to clarify it. I conveyed apologies and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the deceased," said Rodríguez Parrilla.
The error came to light when the family ofFaraj Allah Jarjour, a sixty-year-old Quebecer who died in Cuba of a heart attack during a vacation in Varadero, received thewrong funeral remains.
The family was waiting for the body to be repatriated to Montreal to carry out the burial according to their rituals, but they found a body that did not correspond to their loved one.
The confusion caused sadness, anger and pain among members of the Jarjour family, who had saved more than $10,000 for repatriation expenses.
Miriam Jarjour, daughter of the deceased, expressed her frustration in an interview: "Where is our father? Everyone tells me that it is not his responsibility. But whose responsibility is it?" she asked.
Jarjour's body in Cuba was pulled from the sea by his own children. Then he was in the sun, on a beach chair for more than eight hours, waiting to be transported to a morgue. This added more trauma to the family, who never saw the deceased again and received the body of another dead person in Canada.
Cuban and Canadian authorities are in contact to resolve the situation and ensure that Jarjour's remains are returned to his family as soon as possible.
This incident has once again put the quality of tourist service in Cuba in the spotlight, generating criticism about emergency management and attention to visitors on the island.
Cuban authorities have promised a full investigation to prevent such errors from happening again in the future, but this is not the first time that situations of this type have occurred in the country.
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