Cuban complains about long wait for funeral services with corpse at home

"It is a lack of respect and a lack of awareness that we have had a deceased person in our house since 10:10 AM and there is no coffin. Eight hours have passed and we still have no response from the funeral home staff or the government," the woman erupted on social media.

Cuerpo de fallecida cubierto en casa a la espera de servicios funerarios © Facebook / Yaimara Aguilar Zayas
Body of deceased covered at home awaiting funeral services.Photo © Facebook / Yaimara Aguilar Zayas

A Cuban woman reported the long wait she had to endure to be attended to by the state funeral services, while the body of a deceased person remained in her home, waiting for a coffin.

"It is a lack of respect and a lack of awareness that we have a deceased person in our home since 10:10 am and there is no coffin. Eight hours have passed and we still have no response from the funeral staff or the government," protested the Facebook user identified as Yaimara Aguilar Zayas.

Screenshot Facebook / Yaimara Aguilar Zayas

Her publication was accompanied by a photograph of the body of the deceased covered up. According to the words of the complainant, “this beautiful country is going to waste” due to the “negligence” of those who govern it.

As an aggravating circumstance of her situation, the woman emphasized living with children in the home, for whom the experience can be traumatizing.

Despite how dramatic it is, the case reported by Aguilar Zayas shares similarities with those of many other families who have suffered mistreatment and indifference from the authorities when in need of funeral services.

Recently, a tragic event occurred in the province of Mayabeque when a group of people was forced to carry a coffin on foot for two kilometers to the cemetery due to the lack of proper transportation for the deceased.

In a video posted on the social network Instagram, several people can be seen holding the makeshift coffin placed on a "almendrón" (classic car), while a woman provides details of the distressing situation due to the lack of a hearse.

In mid-July, a Cuban reported the ordeal he had to go through to bury his wife's uncle, who passed away at home, as the family had to bear expenses and arrangements that were theoretically the responsibility of the state.

The complainant, who identifies on Twitter as "A slave of MINSAP," recounted that when they called the funeral home, they were told there were no hearses available, so the family had to arrange their own transportation to retrieve the coffin. "We ourselves put the deceased in the casket and we ourselves took him to the funeral home," he pointed out.

Days earlier, the coffins of two deceased individuals were transported in a dump truck in the city of Palma Soriano, in Santiago de Cuba.

A resident sent the complaint to the communicator Yosmany Mayeta Labrada, accompanied by a video and photos that showed several men placing the coffins on the bed of a dump truck.

Around the same time, the daughter of Cuban actor Carlos Massola reported that they waited seven hours for a hearse to pick up her father's body. Neither fame nor residency in the capital guarantees that Cubans can have funeral services that respect people's dignity.

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