The sudden death of a beloved is a time of crisis for the family, more so for expatriates, who, in their time of grief, are far away from their relatives and home. A lack of information about the disposal of dead bodies and associated procedures aggravate the situation. According to Saudi law, when the dead body is of a Muslim, the family can choose between a local burial (in Saudi Arabia) or in the dead person's home country. In the case of a non-Muslim expatriate, the body is dispatched to his respective country, as the government normally does not allow burial of non-Muslims in the Kingdom. According to the Indian Consulate's website, dead bodies in the following exceptional cases are buried in the Kingdom irrespective of the religion: • Dead body of an expatriate executed in the Kingdom. • Young childrens • Cases where family of a non-Muslim wants local burial in Saudi Arabia and the sponsor manages to get permission. • Dead bodies pending dispatch in the Kingdom for a long time, where response from the family is not forthcoming for acceptance of bodies on arrival at the destination. • Dead body is too mutilated to be dispatched, as a result of traffic/industrial accident etc. “Under Saudi laws and regulations, the Saudi sponsor is responsible, at his own cost, for the disposal of the dead body (of his employee) and the completion of various formalities in this regard,” said K.K.Vijayan, Indian Consul for Community Welfare. On an average, two to three death cases are registered in the Embassy of India (Riyadh) while the Indian Consulate in Jeddah registers one or two cases on a daily basis. All deaths of expatriates, natural (old age, sickness, etc.) or unnatural (murder, suicide, traffic accident, etc.), are dealt by the local police and bodies are disposed off (i.e. local burial – in case of Muslims only or dispatched to India) with the approval of the local Governorate. The Saudi Foreign Ministry has intimated all foreign missions in the Kingdom that bodies of natural death cases will not be kept in mortuaries for more than two months from the date of death if the consent of the family is not received for disposal. Vijayan said irrespective of the nature of the death (i.e. natural or unnatural), the first thing to be done is to inform the local police, then to the nearest kin, and finally, to the embassy of the deceased person's home country. He said as soon as the Indian Consulate receives the first intimation of death, along with the relevant details, it contacts the deceased's sponsor, advising him to complete the necessary local formalities for the issuance of the No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the disposal of the body. “The documents along with their English translation that are required to be submitted by the sponsor to the respective foreign mission for attestation and issuance of the NOC are:• Death Certificate • Medical Report • Police Report (in case of unnatural deaths) • List of the belongings of the deceased • Receipt of Labor Department showing that legal dues have been settled or deposit legal dues by check or cash directly at the mission. After obtaining an NOC receipt, the sponsor then has to complete the remaining formalities, which include: • Permission of the local Governorate for local burial • Obtaining an exit visa on the passport of the deceased after obtaining a sealed letter from the police addressed to the passport authorities. • Embalming of mortal remains and preparation of the coffin (Costing between SR2000 to SR2500 approx.)“If the sponsor is unavailable or is not cooperating with the formalities, expats can avail the services of the consulate,” added Vijayan. The confirmation of cargo space is possible only after the concerned airlines' cargo office has received a direct confirmation of the willingness of the deceased's family to receive the dead body upon its arrival at the airport in the home country. “Depending on the distance of various cities in India, the sponsor has to pay the charges of all formalities, including the airline fare, all of which may total up to SR5000 to SR7000,” said Vijayan. In case of local burial, the date/time and place of burial are communicated at the earliest to the family. In cases involving the dispatch of dead bodies, the flight details are communicated to the next of kin and authorities concerned in India as soon as ascertained from the Saudi sponsor. “We are working for helping people, especially in cases where the sponsor is unavailable or is not cooperating,” Vijayan said. Choudhry Mohammed Akram, an active social worker in the Pakistani community in Jeddah, and who was involved in dispatching to Pakistan the dead body of Tahir Jamil, a well-known Jeddah-based poet, said that it is preferred that the dead body of a Muslim be buried as soon as possible and usually within 24 hours of passing away. He explained the process of transporting the body to the respective home country. “An application form obtained from the Governorate must be filled and attached with the documents, namely: • Cargo booking receipt. • NOC attested from the Ministry of Foreign affairs. • Medical Report. • Police station's letter; And all of this must be submitted at the Governorate office,” Akram said. The Governorate issues a computerized number that contains the governorate telephone number and email address. The authorized person of the deceased must follow up on this. The Governorate office sends the file to the Police within few hours. Then the Police issues letters to airport/cargo office, King Abdul Aziz Hospital and Death Certificate for Civil Affairs Department. Only King Abdul Aziz Hospital is authorized to prepare the dead body. For this, they take 10 to 12 hours and charge anywhere between SR3000 to SR3500 for washing, a shroud and a casket. “Once the body has been prepared, it is transported to the respective home county and for Pakistani nationals, through the PIA free of charge,” said Akram. He expressed appreciation for the services of the Pakistani Consulate in Jeddah in this regard. A number of expat community welfare organizations also help completing the procedural formalities in case of a death. Shareef Zaman of the Pakistan Jhelum Welfare Society said that in case of the death of a Pakistani expat, his society renders all the required services and gives an amount of PKR 220,000 to the bereaved family.
