Costly journey back home

FAMILY members of two young women who died in Canada recently have expressed gratitude to Namibians living in the North American country for contributing close to N$300 000 for their remains to be brought back to Namibia.

China Kamatuka Katjivena (33) and Uendjii Tjiuoro (35) died within two weeks of each other in Canada and the worst fear that Katjivena’s family had was failure to repatriate her body to Namibia for burial because of the costs involved.

They also feared that she might have ended up being buried there or even worse still, being cremated, which is against Herero traditions.

Speaking on behalf of the family Anna-Rosa Katjivena said that had it not been for the Namibians living in Canada who contributed money for the repatriation, they don’t know what would have happened to Kamatuka’s remains.

“They contributed more than CAD15 000 (N$143 000) to pay for the casket, the embalming and air fares. They will also contribute more money to send her belongings back home as that was not included in the N$143 000. The Canadian government allows a body to be in the country for a certain period before they either cremate or bury it themselves. That would have killed her mother to know that her daughter was given a pauper’s burial in a foreign country,” Katjivena said.

Steve Tjiuoro, who also spoke to The Namibian on behalf of the Tjiuoro family said what the Namibians in Canada did for their daughter was beyond patriotism.

“I am very overwhelmed by the solidarity this group showed our family, now we are just going to concentrate on the funeral arrangements here as her body is expected to be in Namibia next week Thursday or Friday,” he said.

There are over 3 000 Namibians living in Canada where they went to seek greener pastures after the high unemployment rate in the country drove them to foreign countries.

While some entered the country legally to work and study, others used all tricks in the book to enter the country including fake claims of seeking asylum. Others got sympathy after claiming that education was not free and that there was discrimination against homosexuals.

Ndoo Mieze the representative of a group called ‘Namibians Living in Canada’ said they have tried approaching the government but to no avail.

“The government told us last year when two other Namibians died that there used to be a budget for repatriation but this was stopped for reasons known to them. But as a small Namibian community in Canada, we decided not to sit back but to stand by our fellow countrymen. No one wants to be buried in a foreign land and for most people who are here in Canada, we came to seek a better life and to help our families back home. So if you die here, most family members don’t have N$150 000 lying around. It is against this background that we are assisting each other with the repatriation of the bodies,” Mieze said.

He further called on the government to look into this matter again and assist family members.

A highly-placed source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said there are many reasons the government does not assist those in the diaspora.

“If you are not on an official mission, the government cannot assist. But the main thing is that there is no budget to repatriate each and every Namibian who dies in a foreign country, especially the ones that left the country claiming asylum. But maybe if there are no other ways to pay for the repatriation of a body from a foreign country, then I know family members can make special arrangements with the government to bring the body home and then reimburse the money later,” the official said.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.