By Soumya Muttappillil
Changanacherry: A team of youngsters in Kerala has taken up a unique mission: Bury Covid victims.
Arun Joseph Nedumparambil, one of the team members, narrates how it all began with a telephone call last year.
“My 23-year-old son has died. Will you come and help in burying him?” The man at the other end sounded helpless. These words were enough to melt the heart of Arun. “Sure, we will come,” Arun put the phone down and rushed to the man’s place.
Arun and his friends get such phone calls regularly these days. They have helped bury close to 100 Covid victims — 15 of them during the second wave. Each burial proves to be a tearful occasion.
Arun is a parishioner of Thuruthi Martha Mariam Forane Church under the archdiocese of Changanacherry. Other members in the team are Kurien George, Alvin Lalimon, Mebin Thomas, Kevin Xavier, Roshan James, Jithu Josey, Jomon Abraham, Jinson Francis, Jojo Joseph, Akhil Joseph, Jinu Jacob, Somu Joseph, Tony Antony, and Mobin Thomas.
Arun is a second year M Com student of Changanacherry’s St Berchman’s College.
The team members say each burial turns out of to be different, with touching scenes and emotional outbreaks.
Arun took up the special mission after he received a phone call from Father Gregory Meppuram, his assistant parish priest, in August 2020.
“An awareness class is being held on the formalities on conducting the funeral of Covid victims. It is being led by a doctor. Can you attend it?” the priest asked Arun.
Two other youths from the parish — Arun, Kurien, and Alvin –were among eight youngsters, seven priests and four nuns who attended the class, apart from Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Tharayil of Kottayam.
The moderator explained the procedures in conducting the funeral of Covid victims. The team conducted the first burial of a Covid victim two weeks later. It was at Kulathurmozhi on August 23, 2020.
They were called by Father Jacob Chakkathara, the director of Yuva Deepthi. Although Arun and friends were warned by the priest on the difficulties involved, they decided to take up the challenge.
Five of them helped in the burial, which they said, deeply impacted them. They experienced the pain of people who were isolated. They realized the agony of being part of Covid funeral and the subsequent moments of distress and heartbreak. It was only the beginning of many such experiences.
A father’s tearful words
Arun and the team have many such emotional stories to tell. In the beginning of January this year, the team was called to help in the burial of a Covid victim in a church near Changanacherry. They put on all protective gear and went to take out the body from the mortuary. They were told that someone wanted to talk to them.
The deceased was an old woman and her husband wanted to meet them. Both were octogenarians. They were admitted in the same hospital. The woman died and her husband had come to have a ‘last look’ at his beloved. It was an emotional ‘meeting’ that brought tears in the onlookers.
The couple was admitted to the hospital together, but the woman left him earlier. After the old man said good-bye to his wife, he turned to Arun and team with a heart filled with gratitude. His words, amid sobbing, touched their hearts: “Sons, thanks a lot. I have nobody else to come here. She has left me, leaving me alone.” After saying this, he went back to the hospital.
A few days later, another call came from the same parish for another burial. Arun and team had the shock of their life when they realized they had to bury the same old man. “We did not know what we heard that day was his last words. Those words are still echoing in our ears,” Arun said.
A day of three burials
The youth team has also faced situations beyond their control. There are days when they get calls one after the other. “On April 30 morning, we had to bury a body at Chethippuzha and another at 11 a.m. at Arumannor. While we were at the second place, another call came but we could not make it. Two more calls came, but we could take up only one more.”
Arun said they returned home around 7:30 after completing three burials.
Initially, many had questioned Arun and his team about their work. Some looked at them with skepticism. Many — young people, relatives, parishioners and teachers — kept a distance when they came back after burials. In college too, they faced similar queries.
However, things have changed over a period. Their service is greatly appreciated today. Many who had turned their face away now come to them for help.
Heart-wrenching incidents
Some phone calls and incidents are heart-breaking. When near and dear ones succumb to Covid, relatives experience great pain. Arun narrates one such phone call that came at around 9 p.m. “There is a burial tomorrow. Can you come and help,’” the man at the other end said. The man also told him that they had to receive the body from Alappuzha Vandanam Medical College and take it for burial.
“Is the deceased an old man?” Arun asked. “It is my son. He was 23 years,” Arun could feel tears trickling down the father’s face. Arun could hear only the man’s sobs.
A burial on the eve of exam
Although Arun’s team has 15 members, not all are free on every occasion. Once on the eve of Arun’s semester exam, two calls came seeking their help. When the first call came, four team members were deputed for the burial and Arun preferred to stay back as he had exams the next day. But when one more call came after sometime, Arun could not make any excuse as many of his team members were not available. He was forced to go for the burial.
Covid makes everyone equal
Covid is an equalizer. It has made the rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless – all equals. Arun narrates one incident: One day a rich man died. Arun and team got the packed body from the hospital. If someone wanted to look at the body, they would open partially the zip of the packing, and nothing more.
The family members wanted to change the man’s dress as he was still in the clothes that he wore to the hospital. They broke down when Arun and team declined their request. The family placed new dress on the top of the coffin. One could see their tears falling on the coffin. “Our dad was not supposed to make his last journey like this. This is not the way he lived,” his children were heard saying amid loud wailing.
The young Covid volunteers saw helplessness in those children’s eyes. Their cries still echo in their ears.
The noble gesture of Arun and team loudly proclaims that one should not fear Covid. Instead, one should remain alert to the dangers of the virus.
Every religion has such fearless youngsters who risk their lives to help others. They don’t do it for power or prestige. They do it out of conviction; they do it as if it is their duty.
Arun and his friends are the unknown heroes of our society. They are the hopes and promises of tomorrow. Let us salute them respectfully with folded hands.
