Canadian died in Cuba – was buried in Russia by mistake

A Canadian man who died in Cuba in March was mistakenly buried in a Russian town north of Moscow. At the same time, another body was sent to the family in Canada.

A government source in Canada tells the AFP news agency that it has been a major challenge for the Canadian authorities to find out what actually happened to the body of Faraj Allah Jarjour.

They still got a bit of a shock when the news came that two coffins had been mixed up at the airport in Cuba, and that the Canadian had by mistake been sent on a final journey to Russia and buried there.

Now the authorities are working hard to get him back home to Canada.

Also read: Canadian man died on holiday in Cuba – family received wrong remains

Got another corpse

Jarjour, originally from Syria, was on holiday in Varadero, Cuba when he died suddenly during a swim in the sea at the end of March.

It was believed that the body had been returned to Canada. The funeral home that had been tasked with preparing the body for burial, on the other hand, began to scratch their heads when the man in the coffin did not look at all like the man in the photo they had received from the bereaved.

The deceased looked 20 years younger, and had lots of hair and tattoos.

On the other hand, Jarjour, who came to Canada in 2016 after fleeing the war in Syria, was 68 years old and bald when he died.

– We realized that it couldn’t possibly be Jarjour. It was the wrong body, says funeral agent Patrice Chavegros to the Canadian broadcaster CBC.

The man in the coffin turned out to be from Russia and was sent on there after the mix-up was discovered.

Cuba says sorry

Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez has apologized for the confusion towards those left behind, and refers to the whole thing as an “unfortunate incident”.

His Canadian counterpart Mélanie Joly says she really feels for those left behind and the “unimaginable situation they are facing”.

– They are going to dig him up and send him to Canada, says Jarjour’s daughter Miriam to the CBC.

– It is not a good situation, but we have no choice. It is beyond our control. We just have to be patient, she says.

Cuba has promised to repay the 10,000 dollars it cost the bereaved to bring the father of the family home from Cuba. It is still not clear when Jarjour will finally be buried in the right place.

The Russian consulate in Montreal tells the CBC that Russian local authorities are doing their best to establish all the facts in the case.