Deqan, a teenage boy who tragically died during a fire in Nut Grove in 2022, was among six unclaimed bodies laid to rest at the New Winthropes Burial Ground by the Central Board of Health yesterday.

The pain of losing a loved one is already unbearable, but not being able to grant them a proper funeral due to financial constraints is a whole other level of heartbreak.

The six unclaimed bodies were buried in a mass grave, a fate no one deserves.

They had been at the Barnes Funeral Home since 2022, waiting for any family members to come forward and claim them.

Unfortunately, the Central Board of Health had to take matters into their own hands and received approval from the court to dispose of the bodies.

Unclaimed bodies at funeral homes in Antigua and Barbuda have been a long-standing issue. Most families simply cannot afford to give their loved ones a proper send-off.

It’s a heartbreaking decision, but one they have to make. Even though the deceased is conscious of nothing at all, every family deserves the peace of mind of knowing that their loved ones are buried with dignity and respect.

This was not the case for Deqan and the other five individuals. They were laid to rest in a mass grave, with no ceremony or any of the usual trappings of a proper funeral.

In the case of Dequan, who was 16 years at the time, the family had waited for over 11 months for an overseas laboratory to return the results, only to have to say goodbye in such a tragic and undignified way.