The Tribune

A LETTER arrived in The Tribune’s inbox this week.

It was a lengthy, but heartfelt, plea from Ambrose Gibson, who owns the St Ambrose Funeral Home – and more than anything it asked for simple dignity and respect.

Addressed to Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, it pointed out the “blatant disregard” for the funeral profession not by one administration but “by every successive government”.

Mr Gibson pointed out the flaws in our current facilities – how the Rand Memorial Hospital has a competent pathologist but “the facility is atrocious”. He talked of how the dead “are housed in refrigerated containers that have no shelves. As a result, the dead are placed on the ground, or on top of other deceased persons on the few tables that are available”. He said the same happens in New Providence to some extent.

These, of course, are our loved ones, our family, our friends, our compatriots. We should be able to demonstrate a simple respect for those who have passed – and stacking bodies on top of one another falls far short of that.

Mr Gibson points out that there are no morgues in South Andros or the Berry Islands, where if there is a delay in transporting a body to New Providence, the bodies are placed in bags covered with ice until they are transported.

He says the morgues in North Eleuthera and Governor’s Harbour are “always inoperative”, and bodies in North or Central Eleuthera must be trucked to Spanish Wells.

North Andros, the morgue works “intermittently”, while those in Great Exuma and Abaco are “state of the art” but there is no air conditioning or ventilation in the foyer.

He goes on to highlight issues with transportation of bodies by air and boat, and the shortage of burial spaces in public cemeteries.

In short, at every turn, there are challenges faced by the industry.

Mr Gibson has a solution, however – calling upon Mr Davis to place the profession under a substantive ministry. His suggestion is for Glenys Hanna Martin to be put in charge, saying “she is the only cabinet minister I see in the public cemetery on a regular basis, she listens, and she is ‘over herself’.”

He also calls for a white paper to be prepared to tackle issues in the industry.

The call is made courteously, but determinedly. And it is a call that has its roots in showing respect to those of us who have passed, as we all must.

During the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, there was great concern over how the bodies of those who died during the storm were stored – so we have had ample opportunity to learn our lesson and to understand where we fall short in showing the proper dignity for the dead.

We hope Mr Davis will listen to Mr Gibson. He may not agree with all of his suggestions – but we can all agree that our family and our fellow countrymen deserve to be treated with respect. And with that comes ensuring that the facilities match up to our needs, and to the skills of those who need to use them.

We commend Mr Gibson for raising such issues.