Without gas for cremation, even dying is a struggle in Venezuela

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

WORLD NEWS DECEMBER 5, 2018 / 11:03 AM / UPDATED 42 MINUTES AGO

Without gas for cremation, even dying is a struggle in Venezuela

Mayela Armas, Mariela Nava
3 MIN READ

CARACAS/MARACAIBO, Venezuela (Reuters) - Angelica Vera of Venezuela’s western state of Zulia planned to cremate her father’s remains after he died of cancer in November because hyperinflation has pushed the cost of funeral services beyond her financial reach.

But the cemetery could not offer a cremation because it had no natural gas, which is in ever shorter supply even though the OPEC nation holds some of the world’s largest energy reserves.

Nor could she afford to leave her father’s remains in the morgue while waiting for gas supplies. Each extra day costs more than a month of minimum wage.

She resorted to the only available option: leaving her father’s body in an unmarked common grave at the edge of the cemetery, an area traditionally reserved for unclaimed bodies.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-funerals/without-gas-for-cremation-even-dying-is-a-struggle-in-venezuela-idUSKBN1O422G

[Delmette2.0]

1. This is so sad.

No one should have to do this with their loved one.