Return of foreigners’ bodies slower

When foreign nationals die in South Africa, it can be traumatic for their families to get the remains home.

Edwin Anderson, operations director for a repatriation company, said it had been difficult for those involved in the repatriation of foreign nationals living in SA during the pandemic.

Neslen Mudzindiko, a client of the business, said: “Burying a loved one these days is painful. I went into a mortuary to identify my brother’s body and pleaded with the staff to take a photo as the body is going across the border. After identifying and taking a picture of my brother, I waited for the body to be carried into the coffin and took another picture before it was closed.”

Mudzindiko added that he did this to show his family in Zimbabwe that the body was his brother because when the coffin arrived in Zimbabwe, it would not be opened.

Anderson, who runs Zororo Phumulani, said more foreign nationals had been using their services. “A process that would take three to five days now takes more than a week and sometimes two weeks due to Covid procedures.”

The Covid-19 restrictions also delayed document clearance.

“Where we used to get one clearance we now require more than one and there are certain documents that need to be certified to ensure the corpse is safe to be transported.”

The cost of their services had also gone up as staff needed to use personal protective equipment to prepare the bodies.

“We decided to include Zoom funerals so families can be part of the funerals they cannot attend,” he added.