Nine Syrian refugees buried in Lefke
NINE Syrian refugees found washed up on the Karpaz coastline after their attempt to reach the island by boat from Turkey ended in tragedy were buried in Lefke last Saturday — with Health Minister Filiz Besim reacting angrily to claims that the bodies had been “diseased”.
Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay and Lefke Mayor Aziz Kaya were among those to attend the funeral along with the relatives of Omar Al Hasan and Abid el Kerim — the only victims to be publicly named — who had travelled from South Cyprus to pay their last respects.
The funeral took place “in line with Islamic rituals and customs” as it is believed that the dead were all Muslims.
Dr Özersay offered his condolences to the relatives and said the whole episode had been “very saddening”.
“We wished they could have been buried in their homeland but because a certain amount of time had passed since they died, they needed to be buried without further delay,” he explained.
A spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee agency said the nine men, from the town of Idlib, were believed to have taken a boat from Turkey on May 10 to join relatives in Cyprus. Their bodies were found between May 13 and 16.
Health Minister Filiz Besim hit back at suggestions on social media that the corpses, which were being kept in a morgue at Lefkoşa State Hospital, had been taken to Lefke because of public health concerns.
“Aziz Kaya and his team, with their huge hearts, said they can bury the bodies, which had decomposed after being at sea for . . . days and in the morgue for 10 days, without any fee and in the shortest possible time,” she said.
The statement prompted a response from Lefkoşa Mayor Mehmet Harmancı.
“When we were approached by the Health Ministry . . . we informed them that we have some issues at the cemetery in Lefkoşa, yet also told them that we . . . can bury some of them . . . and share the responsibility with other municipalities,” he said.
“But we are happy to hear that Mr Kaya said he could bury all nine in Lefke.”