In Sri Lanka, a unique pandemic trauma: Forced cremations
Joanna Slater and Piyumi Fonseka, The Washington Post
Feb. 12, 2021
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1of3A picture of a young Fathima Shakeela, who died of covid-19 at the age of 50 in December. Her body was cremated against her family s wishes.Washington Post photo by Piyumi FonsekaShow MoreShow Less
2of3M.R.L. Nihmathulla holds a photo of his wife, Fathima Shakeela.Washington Post photo by Piyumi FonsekaShow MoreShow Less
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In his grief, Mohamed Niyas cannot bring himself to tell his wife the truth.
She knows that their 2-month-old boy, who was born with a serious heart condition, died in January after being rushed to the hospital in their seaside town in Sri Lanka.
Fifty-year-old mother of three, Fathima Shakeela died on December 14 while undergoing treatment at the
Homagama Base Hospital. Shakeela has been receiving treatment for a kidney ailment for more than one and half years. Incidentally, she was tested positive for COVID-19 when she went to the National Hospital for her third dialysis, which was earlier fixed for November 31 but later postponed for December 10 because of the large influx of patients and pandemic-related issues.
Less than five days after her admission to hospital, Shakeela passed away, reportedly due to complications arising from COVID-19 and her long battle with kidney disease and diabetes. Shakeela’s 58-year-old husband M.R.L. Nihmathulla who did not believe the PCR test results, demanded a test-result report from the hospital to which the hospital did not agree. Then, he requested for official approval to carry out a private PCR test on the body so that he and their family could make sure that his wife actuall