Inequality knows no occasion

The COVID-19 pandemic has reached different stages of debate. And one quite distinct is the question of disparity, a sharp delineation between the haves and have-nots.

The pandemic has rapidly forced utilitarian priorities to dominate decision making. Given that basic freedoms are limited, individuals are forced to make sacrifices for the common good, including fundamental improvements in how we care for dying people and those they leave behind.

There is little time for COVID-19 patients to adjust to death, as deterioration is rapid and death usually occurs no more than two to three days after a decision to remove or to not continue intensive care support. There is extensive evidence of families refused access to patients dying from the virus, failure to release bodies, and prohibition of funerals.

There are fears of people not being able to be with a loved one who is dying from COVID-19, including basic care not being given, no one being there to tell caregivers what the patient might be really like, decisions not being made on just grounds and the patient dying in pain.

Right up to the final stage of one's life. Death can also be an opportunity to look at the immense experiences of people on both sides, the fortunate on one end and the deprived on the other. Death during the pandemic is both daunting and disheartening for those who have less in life.

Death is a stage of one's life, before joining the Creator it's celebrated by loved ones to give meaning to one's life. And then for the bereaved family, the remaining days or weeks with the deceased person are so important.

The honoring of the deceased is observed so widely throughout cultures. Having a wake and a mourning time afterwards has a great deal to do with our mental and social connection to the deceased. Specifically, as it is customary on the ninth night, it is assumed that the spirit of the deceased moves through the party gathering food and saying goodbye before heading to the resting place. Out of all nights this night is the most revered since it is the end of the celebration.

But the pandemic hinders us from doing this for health and safety reasons and so immediate cremation is performed without even family members and relatives being present. The kind of experience consumes them so emotionally.

But for all the fortunate, the case is so much different, they can change the laws and guidelines. This means allowing them to go ahead with the usual way of ritualizing their deceased loved ones.

For example, a powerful government official may bypass the rules, enabling the deceased family member or relative to follow the traditions and activities for the dead loved one before they eventually bid goodbye.

The have-nots either bend to meet the restricted criteria or are compelled to comply as they do not have the access and power to deviate from them. But those with the power and influence can easily get their own way without realizing that what they are meant to do is for the greater good at all.