Faraj Allah Jarjour’s family paid $7,300 to transport his remains to Quebec and was given a coffin with the body of a Russian
14ymedio, Havana, 23 April 2024 — The family of Faraj Allah Jarjour, the Syrian who lived in Canada and died on March 22 of a heart attack while vacationing in Cuba, still has not received explanations from the island’s authorities, who sent the body of another person to Quebec . “Until now we have no answers. “Where is my father?” declared Miriam, the traveler’s daughter, to the Inquirer portal.
According to Miriam, they paid 10,000 Canadian dollars (7,300 US dollars) to transport her father’s body, as indicated by the Canadian consulate in Havana. However, at the end of last week they were given the remains of a “20-year-old Russian with several tattoos.”
The body of the young Russian was sent to his country, but as of Monday they had no news of the whereabouts of Faraj Allah Jarjour’s remains. The Canadian consular authorities in Cuba blame “the company on the island that coordinates the return of the remains,” Miriam said. The 68-year-old tourist’s family has emailed officials, including a member of Parliament, who offered to contact Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly.
The death of Faraj Allah highlighted the shortcomings at the Meliá Varadero Hotel, where the family had arrived two days before to spend a week’s vacation with all services included, La Tijera published on its social networks.
Miriam said that the hotel does not have medical facilities, so her father’s body was covered and remained under the sun for more than eight hours. Furthermore, due to the lack of transportation, a vehicle transported Faraj Allah’s remains to Havana for certification.
The case of this lost corpse illustrates, once again, the state of the tourism industry in Cuba, which has not raised its head since Covid-19 and which, however, continues to have Canada as the first country in number of foreign visitors.
So far Faraj Allah’s family has spent 25,000 Canadian dollars (18,248 US dollars) throughout the process, including 15,000 Canadian dollars (10,950 US dollars) for funeral services.
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