Dear Editor,
Last Friday April 8, I attended a funeral at Kashi Dham, Ruimzeight, West Coast Demerera. The cremation was scheduled to begin at 2.00 pm but the hearse bearing the body arrived 15 minutes late. However, the officer (Mr. Gary Hinds) from the Ministry of Health prevented the cremation from taking place when the family was ready to proceed.
On speaking with him to ascertain his reason for stopping the cremation, he told me that the lateness caused him to waste his time, so he assumed the power to declare that the cremation would take place at 3.00 pm instead. He was prepared to “waste” more of his time to “teach the family a lesson” which he claimed was for his “personal satisfaction.” Strange as it may seem, the words in quotation were actually spoken by him.
Such power, arrogance and bullying I have rarely come across, and certainly not on an occasion like this, and all for this man’s “personal satisfaction” as he candidly and proudly stated. What was perhaps even more shocking to me was that beyond the hushed murmurs of disapproval the nearly 200 persons present on the ground meekly submitted to the big and bad bully. When I suggested to the concerned persons that we go ahead anyway the answer was that, “We don’t want to get in any trouble.”
Through a friend I managed to get hold of the regional health official who assured me that Mr. Hinds had no such power especially since COVID protocols were no longer in place, and promised to look into matter. I was again going to the family with this information to suggest we proceed, when at 2.55 pm Mr. Hinds, obviously at his pleasure and having punished the family sufficiently enough to his personal satisfaction, allowed the family to carry on with the cremation.
How is it possible for a human being to take upon himself such power and arrogance to penalise 200 persons through no fault of their own, and all for his personal satisfaction to wreak revenge for his “loss of time” even though it entailed losing more time, is hard to comprehend. Yet, it did happen.
Sincerely,
Swami Aksharananda
