A simple burial for the Jakarta's unclaimed dead<\/p>\n
By Emmy Fitri<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Biased treatment is the last thing morgue
\nworkers can indulge in when they are dealing with the city's
\nunclaimed bodies.<\/p>\n
But families can rest assured that a missing relative, who may
\nhave ended up at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital morgue
\nas an unidentified corpse, was treated as well as could be
\nexpected.<\/p>\n
All bodies receive a proper burial complete with Moslem
\nprayers.<\/p>\n
Every morgue has its share of horror stories but this does not
\naccount for the impartial treatment of unclaimed bodies by morgue
\nworkers here.<\/p>\n
\"God sees everything,\" Atjip, a senior morgue official, said
\nby way of explanation.<\/p>\n
\"It's the duty of the living to take care of the dead. It just
\nso happens that it's the job of the morgue to take care of
\nunidentified bodies.<\/p>\n
\"It's a sin if we see a dead body lying around and do nothing
\nabout it. We treat them as if they were from our family.<\/p>\n
\"Who knows, God forbid, if one of these days we stumble into
\nan accident and nobody recognizes our body.\"<\/p>\n
The Cipto Mangunkusumo morgue buries about 40 unclaimed bodies
\nevery month.<\/p>\n
Police send all of Jakarta's unidentified bodies to the
\nmorgue. The bodies are usually kept in the morgue's refrigerator
\nfor five days -- allowing relatives time to claim their beloved
\n-- before they are buried, Mardiyono, the head of the morgue,
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
If police request a postmortem examination, a body may be kept
\nfor up to seven days, he said.<\/p>\n
Morgue workers inspect and keep records of all bodies before
\nthey are placed in storage.<\/p>\n
Unclaimed bodies are removed from the refrigerators en masse
\nonce a week.<\/p>\n
Six workers were involved in a recent cleanup, which was
\noccasionally punctuated with morgue jokes and laughter -- a sign
\nthat, for them, this was just another day at work.<\/p>\n
They unloaded the bodies from the refrigerator and sprayed
\nthem with water and antiseptic liquid, taking care not to damage
\nthe decomposing bodies.<\/p>\n
The corpses are then wrapped in unbleached cotton and plastic
\n-- the way all dead Moslems are treated -- before being placed in
\ncoffins due to their state of deterioration.<\/p>\n
A shortage of coffins often means that infants are put
\ntogether in one coffin or placed alongside an adult.<\/p>\n
The coffins are taken to an adjacent hall for the prayer
\nceremony, which is led by a morgue worker.<\/p>\n
\"We can only say prayers in the Moslem way. It's the only way
\nwe know,\" Atjip said, adding that all morgue staff are Moslems.<\/p>\n
\"I think it's the goodwill that counts.\"<\/p>\n
So what is the fate of unclaimed bodies after the morgue
\nprocedures have been completed?<\/p>\n
The public funeral agency is responsible for burials at either
\nSemper Cemetery in North Jakarta or Pondok Ranggon Cemetery in
\nEast Jakarta, the final resting places for unidentified corpses.<\/p>\n
\"Ten years ago we buried the 'unknowns' at Tegal Alur Public
\nCemetery in West Jakarta but because of the residential growth
\nthere, the city opened these two cemeteries,\" R. Soetardjo, the
\nhead of the funeral agency's planning division, said.<\/p>\n
The agency allocates a plot, transports the body from the
\nmorgue to the cemetery, provides the coffins and the wooden grave
\nmarker, which lists the available details.<\/p>\n
At the cemetery, there is a straightforward, simple burial for
\nall. There are no tears, no emotion and no chanting of prayers
\nwhich usually accompanies a private burial.<\/p>\n
If relatives come forward after the burial, the wooden grave
\nmarker should help the agency locate the bodies.<\/p>\n
Police or officials from the morgue, which has details about
\nthe bodies and any personal belongings, can help families ensure
\nthat the unidentified person was their loved one.<\/p>\n
But the public funeral agency will not exhume bodies until six
\nmonths after the burial, Soetardjo said.<\/p>\n
\"Newly buried bodies ooze gas that could be hazardous to
\nanyone who comes into contact with it,\" he said. \"We have to wait
\nfor the sake of the relatives as well as the grave workers.\"<\/p>\n
And a recently buried body would not be a pleasant sight, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
There are, however, exceptions to the rule.<\/p>\n
Police often require the agency to exhume bodies as part of a
\ncriminal investigation.<\/p>\n
\"In the name of justice, they can be exhumed any time the
\npolice require it,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-simple-burial-for-the-jakartas-unclaimed-dead-1447893297",
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