Funerals

I went to a funeral wake today. The assistant health manager's brother died about a month ago. This weekend is the funeral. The wake was held at the morgue, after which the body was driven to the village. Funerals here require time and preparation, like weddings. Also like weddings, people dress en uniforme, matching outfits. The fabrics are more somber though. The family's pagne had a picture of a house, half of which was broken off into a rubble that was on fire. The words espoir perdu, hope lost, written beneath. Another pagne I saw a lot of people wearing had two doves on it. There were also a lot of t-shirts which have the deceased's photo on the front, on the back was printed BINO (a nickname) nous oublierions pas. Le directeur a tôt disparu. These funeral shirts are ubiquitous here, you see them all over. Family members and women cried and wailed audibly. Each time a new person arrived, it would start over. It was strange and surprising to be witness to something that felt so personal. I guess its just a different way to grieve.

In the past few weeks, there have been 6-7 deaths of family members of staff. This is how a life expectancy of 55 years old plays out...