The
tragic fallout of the Malaysian flight originating from Amsterdam shocked the
entire world. The very circumstance of the crash made the incident even more
heart wrenching and an unbearable horror for affected families, friends and
nations of the deceased. Almost 300 innocent souls literally dropped off the
sky and plummeted to an unimaginable and painful tragedy in a situation devoid
of any fighting chance for survival; devoid of any opportunity to send distress
calls; and devoid of any preparedness. It was certainly one of the most unwarranted,
preventable and painful disasters in recent times.
The
whole world of humanity (unfortunately, we
must acknowledge there are relatively few people who believe and live in a world
of brutality and savagely, who daily grab media headlines with atrocious acts
for whatever reasons or cause) rose up in condemnation, not only of the horrific
act itself but also of the treatment of the bodies of the deceased and other evidence
at the crash scene. Dead bodies are simply not dead object; these are children,
mothers, fathers, uncles, aunties, grandparents, friends, colleagues and
nationalities. They do not simply turn to objects by cessation of life. The
victims were people who just a while ago, hugged their families and bade farewell
to their families, friends and associates. Death only took away their lives but
not their personhood; not their dignity; and not their right. The intransigence of the pro-Russian rebels by limiting access to care for the bodies of the
victims and secure other evidence was roundly condemned by the humane world.
The
contrast, which is a standard for treatment of the dead, could be seen in the
manner in which the bodies of the dead were prepared and transported to Netherlands for forensic investigation. Each body was placed in a separate
coffin and carried into transport aircraft with solemn air and decorum. On
arrival at destination, there was a formal procession to welcome the dead bodies.
They were treated with the dignity they deserved even in death. Each coffin was
carried by a separate hearse and accorded utmost respect. It would have been “convenient”
and “cheaper” for just one cargo plane to have carried all the bodies/bodies
parts bundled together, but a decent world would not do that. Two or more
bodies could have fitted into a coffin; after all they were just being
transported to a facility for further investigation. And that would have been
very
inappropriate. The way any society treats the dead is a reflection of
level of civilization of such society.
Africa
has a lot to learn from the crash over Ukraine. Most governments in Africa do
not reckon with expending resources to manage the dead. Once a disaster occurs
and after some feeble rescue and recovery operations, the next move is usually
to quickly dispense with the dead to “avoid epidemic”. Such unfounded assertion
and unchallenged myth has been promoted even by government officials. Any attempt to advocate for proper management of
the bodies of the dead and disaster victim identification (DVI) is usually met
with the cold attitude of the dead not being in any priority for “scarce
resources”. The next action is usually mass a burial of largely unidentified
and unclaimed bodies, and the penchant to “move on”. To nowhere! Families,
friends and communities are left permanently in a pit of devastation without
any opportunity to achieve closure. The resultant deep resentment, suppressed
anger and lack of closure fuel a vicious cycle of violence in Africa with
attendant destruction of more lives and property. It therefore makes no
socioeconomic sense to “save cost”, ignore the dead and “move on”. Society never recovers in the true sense from
such disasters and it is almost impossible to make any human progress where
people are still stuck in a pit of despondency and unresolved cases.
The
lack of disaster preparedness especially with management of dead bodies in mass
disasters is lacking in most of Africa. The use of refrigerated train coaches by
the government of Ukraine to store and transport the dead underscored the
essence of innovation, creativity and flexibility in disasters.
And
the dead never die as the pain, loss and reality of the sad incident still reverberates
through affected families, friends, communities and nations. Only a process of
closure which includes proper treatment of dead bodies with respect and
dignity, appropriate investigation and justice for the dead and their families
and loved ones, is a definitive step in soothing the pain of the affected community.
Indeed, the dead cannot be forgotten because their families, friends and loved
ones bear the scars in their heart. Dignity for the dead is at the heart of our
individual personhood. Anyone could be a victim of disaster at anytime. Management
of bodies of victims following disasters is therefore as important to the dead
and their families and friends as rescue operation is to the living. This
subject was the theme of the 2014 pan-African conference of the African Society of Forensic Medicine (ASFM) in Abuja Nigeria. It is a message that government
and agencies in Africa desperately need to embrace especially through difficult
times on the continent where a trail of bloody conflicts and man-made disasters
leave numerous dead victims.
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