Mohammad al-Bahadli dug with his bare hands the hot sand of the Iraqi desert to succeed in his father’s corpse.
“Now, in spite of everything, he can be with our people, our family, in the old cemetery,” Bahadli, 49, said as his relatives sobbed over his body, wrapped in a shroud.
After restrictions on the burial of those killed by the new coronavirus have been provided, Iraqis exhuman the sick and put them back in their post in the circle of family cemeteries.
Iraqi families have exhumed the coffins of their loved ones who died from the new coronavirus, and who were first buried in special cemeteries amid fears that their bodies may still spread the photo: AFP/
For months, the families of those who died after contracting Covid-19 were barred from bringing the frame to bury him in a circle of family graves, so that the corpses would not yet spread the virus.
Instead, the government established a “coronavirus cemetery” on desert outdoor lands in the sanctuary town of Najaf, where volunteers in protective clothing buried the sick 5 meters (16 feet) away.
Only one member of the family circle was allowed to attend the quick funerals, which occurred in the middle of the night.
There they were buried victims of all sects, Shiite and Sunni Muslims, as well as Christians.
Families have unearthed those they have enjoyed after the rule change, so they can now bury the coffins in their circle of family cemeteries Photo: AFP / –
But on September 7, the Iraqi government announced that it would allow those who died after contracting Covid-19 to be transferred to the cemetery of their family choice circle.
Many of those buried under emergency regulations came here from other parts of the country.
“The first time, he buried so far,” Bahadli said of his 80-year-old father’s funeral rites.
Iraq, one of the Countries of the Middle East most affected by covid-19, with more than 280,000 infections and nearly 8,000 deaths Photo: AFP / –
“I’m not sure it’s been done the right and right way. “
Iraq has been one of the Countries of the Middle East hardest hit by Covid-19, with more than 280,000 infections and nearly 8,000 deaths.
For relatives, reburying the frame of their enjoyment and making sure that the right rites were given helped close after sudden death Photo: AFP / –
On September 4, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that “the likelihood of transmission by manipulation of human remains is low”.
A few days later, after the tension of the families, the Iraqi government announced that it would allow the bodies to be moved through “specialized fitness equipment. “
But the first burials were chaotic.
An Iraqi circle of relatives digs up the body of a relative in a coronavirus cemetery on an open-air desert plot of Najaf to be transferred to a relative circle cemetery for his new burial Photo: AFP / –
In the “coronavirus cemetery” in najaf’s open-air desert, many families began arriving Thursday night to dig up their circle of relatives and bring the bodies home.
They brought their own shovels, sand-collecting baskets and new wooden coffins to bring the dead.
The sounds of fierce tears and prayers of mourning with the curse of the beaks echoed in the sand.
There were no fitness professionals or cemetery guides on site so families could locate or search for bodies properly, an AFP correspondent said.
In some cases, families dug into a grave marked after a relative, to locate an empty coffin, or to notice a young man’s body as they waited to locate his elderly mother’s body.
Other bodies were wrapped in funeral shrouds, demanded by Islam as a sign of respect.
The effects provoked outrage at the state-sponsored armed organization that had taken over funerals in recent months, with some relatives setting fire to the base of the nearby faction.
“The gravediggers do not have the right materials,” said Abdallah Kareem, whose brother Ahmed died as a result of Covid-19.
“They don’t even know how to locate the graves,” he told the AFP while tending the grave.
Kareem, who reaches about 230 kilometers (140 miles) south of Iraq’s Muthanna province, decided to re-enter his brother in case he violated the devoted decrees.
In Islam, the deceased will have to be buried as soon as possible, regularly within 24 hours.
Cremation is strictly prohibited and burials are virtually unknown, but they are necessarily prohibited if the frame remains intact, a Najaf cleric told the AFP.
Despite the complications, families were relieved to see the closure through a classic burial.
“Since my father was buried here, I’ve been repeating his words in my head before his death: ‘My son, take a look at burying me in the circle of relatives in the cemetery, don’t let me get too far away from my enjoyments,’ “Hussein, another mourner who only gave his first name, told the AFP.
The 53-year-old man unearthed his father’s body with his hand and transferred it to the sprawling Wadi al-Salam cemetery, where millions of Shia Muslims are buried.
“The dream that has haunted me in months has come true,” Hussein said.