True enough, as has been recently reported, many Maltese have been applying for a private grave at the Addolorata Cemetery for years now. Is it possible that no one holds direct responsibility for offering such citizens their right to a decent burial?
On the issue of cremation, we must respect the wishes of those who opt for burial, simply because there are more people who applied for a burial area at the Addolorata Cemetery. In Malta, burial is the preferred manner of showing respect to the dead.
Since primitive times people have preferred cremation. Some people would argue that cremation for our dead would be more economical at the end of the day. Less goes into the initial cost and less land space is taken up. Death is no longer looked at as a cult to be respected. Family quickly do away with the issue brought about by the dead family member who has been carried off into oblivion.
Each and every anniversary of the death of a forsaken one does not bring about the endless journey for the procuration of flowers, vases, water and candles and especially the chore of cleaning up the area of one’s family grave.
Would it not be more psychologically healthy to take time out periodically to continue this link with our blessed memories?
I consider the burial of our dead a more civil and humane thing, since in burial the sentiments of love and affection are continued. When we love someone we love them through what we see. And what we see of each person is the body; what remains thereafter their death is their body, while cremation destroys what we have been accustomed to.
No one is to be forced to choose cremation, especially when we can easily manage a burial area the size of Addolorata Cemetery. What we need is a civil service that will do justice to the applications for the burial wishes of so many thousands (4,029 applications for the Addolorata Cemetery alone).
Most of us would prefer a costly grave, where our loved ones can be cared for, rather than a quick cremation process, which changes the process of grief altogether.