The bodies of Papua New Guinean 31 infants who died between March and July last year at Port Moresby General Hospital were among 127 unclaimed bodies interred in a mass burial yesterday at the 9-Mile public cemetery.

The infants had died soon after birth — 0-7 days old — at the special care nursery but were not claimed by relatives within the first four to five days.

“Most of them are from the nursery and labour wards,” said morgue attendant Davis Angus yesterday at the mass burial site.

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He said that of the 127 unclaimed dead bodies, 31 were infants, 48 adults and 48 amputated body parts. Normally the deceased stayed for two months two weeks before being declared unclaimed.

Angus said that about eight infants were placed and buried in one coffin — six coffins were used to bury the bodies of the 39 infants.

“The amputated are the body parts operated and removed from patients who were diabetic, had ulcers or were injured in nasty accidents,” he said.

“These come from the operating theatre.

“Two months is the maximum time for the dead bodies to be in the cool room. Two weeks is the grace period.

Second mass burial
“We conduct mass burial when we receive no notice from the relatives of the deceased.

“We get approval from the National Capital District Commission (NCDC) to proceed with a mass burial. It depends on the NCDC.

“If they delay, than we keep the bodies till whenever.”

These bodies now buried were unclaimed from March 1 to July 31 of last year.

“This is the second mass burial,” Angus said.

“The first one was conducted in December.

“We do mass burial to create space. Currently there is not enough space to keep the deceased bodies.

“In a day, four to five deceased [bodies] are taken to the morgue and six to seven are taken out by their relatives for decent burials. Weekly it is roughly 10 -15 that leave the morgue and 15 to 20 are received.”

The mass burial yesterday was prompted by a public outcry on both social and mainstream media when photos of 20 unclaimed bodies at the layout went viral and hit the front page of the PNG Post-Courier.

“The morgue is extremely crowded,” said Port Moresby General Hospital’s chief executive officer Dr Paki Molumi.

Phoebe Gwangilo is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Fiji human rights activist Shamima Ali is concerned over what she says is the constant discovery of dead bodies and an increase in missing people — especially young women.

Ali said that often in restrictive environments where human rights and democracy and the rule of law spaces were shrinking, there was often an increase in violence within communities.

She said that in an already patriarchal society, authoritarian leadership encouraged the lack of debate, consultation and violence and “bullying” was the only answer to settling arguments and disputes.

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“Our communities are impoverished and many people are struggling for their own and their family’s survival,” she said.

“This also gives rise to mental health issues and many are again struggling for lack of a robust system that caters to their needs.”

Ali said many were resorting to alcohol or self-harm.

She said the social fibre of Fiji’s communities seemed to be disintegrating and had worsened due to covid-19 and poverty.

Victims ‘the most vulnerable’
“The majority of victims are the most vulnerable — the poor and the disfranchised.”

Ali said it was important for people to act responsibly to avert such tragedies.

“We often do not know the outcomes of these reports ­– has the missing person been found, the circumstances of the bodies found — murder, accidental or suicide?

“There have been some cases where there have been allegations against police and corrections officers.

“We need answers. We do not have a robust national human rights institution that is proactive and acts on its own volition.

“The police need to update and the media need to follow up.

“Civil society also needs to raise concern and not just let it be the topic of conversation.

‘Troubled teens, odd behaviour’
“Families and friends will also know what to look out for — troubled teens, family members behaving oddly and seeming troubled.”

Ali said alcohol use was an issue in the country and would get worse during this festive season.

“Let us all take responsibility and look out for each other, especially families and friends,” she said.

“Make this Christmas a caring one for each other.”

Luke Nacei is a Fiji Times reporter. Republished with permission.