Confusion reigned at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) mortuary yesterday as two funeral service providers went to uplift the bodies of those killed in the Lusignan massacre.
The bodies were eventually released to the Sandy’s Funeral Home after it was claimed that the funerals would be done free of charge. However, when contacted yesterday, Sandy’s owner, Michael Sandy told Stabroek News he was unaware of this and was waiting on relatives of the deceased to go into his office to make arrangements. He confirmed that the 11 bodies were at his funeral home.
First Lady Varshnie Singh was at the mortuary yesterday and according to reports was instrumental in the bodies being moved to Sandy’s.
Dr Dawn Stewart of the Lyken Funeral Home, where the bodies were previously stored told Stabroek News that two of the families had already made arrangements for the funeral arrangements to be looked after by Lyken’s when upon turning up at the GPH, she was told that the bodies were going to Sandy’s.
She alleged that the relatives were told that Lyken’s was a “government parlour” and they did not have to use that service. She pointed out that Lyken’s was a privately-owned business but had contracts with several state agencies.
Stewart said that Singh had contacted her and said she was “not part of the policy or anything” but was advocating on behalf of the families and Sandy’s had offered to carry out the funeral arrangements for free. “The First Lady told me Mr Sandy is doing the services free for all 11 of the persons,” Stewart said.
“She asked me if we were going to bury them free,” and after Stewart said there was no such arrangement, Singh said that she wanted the bodies to go to Sandy’s.
Stewart added that she had spoken to Kwame McCoy, Assistant Press and Publicity, Officer of the Office of the President, who said that the bodies were to go back to Lyken’s for the families to make their arrangements.
Noting that the families were free to make their own arrangements, Stewart noted said it was the manner in which the bodies were removed that was upsetting. She noted that two families had signed authorizations for Lyken’s to uplift the bodies.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Vision Guyana Peter Ramsaroop said in a press release that he would pay for all the children’s funerals if the government did not do so.
