2023-05-16 13:30:24
“Do you seriously want an opinion on this topic? Lack of everything”, was the first comment in the survey published by a team from this weekly on our Telegram channel on March 3, about the funeral services in Sagebrush.
Without intending to offend anyone on an extremely painful subject, we open Pandora’s box with unpleasant opinions and experiences when laying wakes or burying a loved one.
We already know that death has been a symbol for literature and art since time immemorial, and although it is a delicate matter, it is up to us to face it in the most dignified way possible. So, inquiring about obituary services in funeral homes and cemeteries represents a high social responsibility.
Shameful criteria, such as that of Leomirlis Lemus del Llano trace the path. “There is no hearse and the mourners must rent to individuals…, the gravediggers have nothing to work with. At the time of making exhumations in the public vaults, they do not know where the body is (…), there are problems with the coffins, there is no gastronomy service in the funeral homes, nor flowers in the florist’s”.
And it is that the first place to go when faced with a novelty is the funeral home, where there is not always a welcoming environment, so necessary in these circumstances.
Going out or funeral home?
In order to find out about its situation, we went to Mariel, where Guillermo Humberto Tejo Díaz, its administrator, explained that a general repair was carried out about ten years ago. “The expanded polystyrene (polyfoam) cover was installed, we covered walls at window height with marble slabs, among other actions, such as painting. Some time later, some details were worked on and it was also painted”.
However, “about two years ago, leak problems began to appear, mainly in the corridor and office areas. This has caused the deterioration of the walls due to the accumulated humidity.
“Now the Provincial Communal Company is planning a repair to respond to these effects.” Tejo Díaz adds that there is still no execution date, since it must first be included in the economic plan.
Among other situations that affect the performance of the unit, he mentions the clogging of the sewage drain by the town, which passes next to the funeral home. “When the tide rises, this waste enters the patio and covers part of it; if it rains they also occupy the interior of the premises and, depending on the intensity, it is the flood.
“It happens about seven years ago. After beginning the construction of houses in surrounding areas, rubble and earth clogged the ditch. On the other hand, the exit to the sea does not present a favorable situation; that also has repercussions and requires a joint effort from the neighbors and the competition of teams. As much as this situation has been reported, it has not been resolved”.
Just a few meters from the stretch of ditch, is the Obituary office, to which Cyclone Ian took the roof. In this case the solution is within reach. “We already have the fibers to set it up with a brigade from the UEB de Comunales itself,” says the administrator.
Although the aforementioned problems are worrisome, the most critical situation lies in the municipality’s burial capacity. “In December of last year we managed to increase 24 drawers in the head cemetery and they were occupied that month,” he illustrates.
Nor do they have a cafeteria service. “About two years ago, Commerce decided to close it because it had no offers. Before the point of sale was enabled, the entity delivered a pound of coffee per family, a modality that later changed by having a space where they could already sell it prepared. Many people choose to bring an electric coffee maker.”
The funeral service is complemented by others that, although they do not depend on an entity of this type, mark such a sensitive moment for families.
The price of flowers is not a secret to anyone, and they are not abundant in all locations. “Families acquire the bouquets or loose flowers (mostly) with individuals, as well as the crowns, whoever has the possibility.
Since 2014 the municipality does not have a flower shop; When we had this center, the flowers were brought from San Antonio de los Baños, since we had a farm in Las Mangas, but it only gave sunflowers and filler specimens (to complete the crowns)”, alleges Tejo Díaz.
population in Artemis
Plans and flowers in sight
Valentín Cordero Pérez, director of Production and Services of the Provincial Communal Company, clarifies that the unobstruction of the drain is the responsibility of the municipal Administration. Regarding the construction situation of the funeral homes in the territory, the Ministry of Economy and Planning did not approve money to repair them in 2023.
“Artemisa’s also leaks, which requires waterproofing paper that we haven’t found. We want to propose the gradual rehabilitation of all these institutions again next year, as they need it due to the deterioration”.
According to the director, “in all the municipalities we have advocated with the governments to enable the cafeterias of the funeral homes. For example, Güira de Melena is about to open its own, leased to a new form of non-state management. In the case of the Candelaria plant, we asked the government to hand it over to us in vain to operate it with our workers, while Commerce continues without offers.
Cordero Pérez recognizes that at least a little coffee should be guaranteed to the mourners, through the Commerce units. In this regard, Alfredo Ramos Quesada, Gastronomy specialist of the Provincial Company, refers that, since 2022, the pound of coffee per deceased, which was sold at reasonable prices, ceased to be received from the national balance.
Listen to this audio about the situation of the Cuba Café Company
Likewise, another of the great dissatisfactions of the population is related to floral decorations. On the subject, the official explains that Mariel and San Cristóbal do not have flower shops. “We are looking for alternatives like in Bauta, where we rented the premises to a MSME and it was integrated into a development project.
“Last November we had a meeting with the farmers, as they requested to increase prices due to the scarcity of inputs. The new rates were approved”, and according to Valentín this year the availability of flowers has improved.
“Now we transfer them from one municipality to another; In addition, we have a fridge where we can store them at Artemisa’s flower shop and thus satisfy the territory”.
Comunales contracts directly with 38 producers from Güira de Melena, Alquízar and San Antonio de los Baños, who supply the rest. “Mariel gets supplies from the farms of Guanajay and Caimito (which also has the one in Vereda), and to Bahía Honda we arrive with the harvest from various municipalities.”
Nor has the Artemisa development farm produced the expected results, although it was leased to a Cooperative.
Valentín’s criteria differs from Internet users such as Mabel Clavijo, who laments the “sadness of a box without flowers, previously dedicated by loved ones and friends”; or María del Carmen, outraged by the prices.
During a visit to the La Dalia flower shop, in the Artemisa municipality, Lázaro Ernesto Blaín Reinoso, the administrator, spoke of links with peasants from other parts of the world, who guarantee gladioli, rare roses, daisies, carnations…, when before they received them from the local farm , with which the contract has not been renewed, nor does it yield the expected results, although it was leased to a cooperative.
In La Dalia they even sold to the town at the time of our visit; but, as long as there is only one dissatisfied person, no one can sit on their laurels, even less in matters of such high human sensitivity. But, it is not all; the last goodbye to a loved one suffers from other entanglements, to which we will return in a future report.
BY: YUSMARY ROMERO, YAILÍN ALICIA CHACÓN AND MARÍA CARIDAD GUINDO
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