Bereft family denied burial for their loved one a year after death

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Deceased, Mario Honore’ (Contributed)
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By Latrishka Thomas

The traditions of remembrance and burial to honour the departed have been upended for a family who, up to one year later, have not been able to lay their loved one to rest.

On June 14, 2019, Mario Honore’ died at the Mount St John’s Medical Centre due to numerous complications and the circumstances surrounding his death prompted a pathology investigation which was reportedly delayed due to the non-payment of monies owed to the overseas-based forensic pathologist.

But on the one-year anniversary of his demise, Honore’s relatives are still waiting for that investigation as his body remains at Barnes Funeral Home.

“I just want it to be over … it’s frustrating, and worse, during this current situation it means that the dozens of people — family members, extended family, people overseas and villagers who cared about my brother — they can’t all attend the service so therefore it’s unnecessary suffering,” Damian De Silva, the eldest brother of Honore, told Observer.

He said that he believes that the investigation should have been completed by August of last year, the latest.

De Silva also shared that this ordeal has not been easy for some family members.

“We are taking it one day at a time. It’s mostly good days but my sisters in particular have bad days,” he revealed, adding that Honore’s young nieces and nephews have been questioning why their uncle hasn’t been buried yet.

He therefore made a passionate appeal for the authorities to complete the investigation, saying: “I just wish they would stop b-s-ing and just do what they have to do.

“Clearly there’s an issue in terms of communication between the Ministry’s of Health and Finance and we are still not even sure if the overseas pathologist has been paid yet,” he remarked.

Attempts to contact various authorities for an update on the investigation have proved futile.

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