Respect the dead

WITH reference to the article “Bodies rot on Phoenix mortuary floor” (POST, July 3-7).

It was once said you can measure how civilised a country is by the way it treats its dead.

Once again, the Phoenix mortuary has come under the spotlight, with bodies lying on the floor. I say: cry our bleeding, beloved country.

I am ashamed of being South African. I am filled with disdain and disgust to see there is no value system and human dignity.

We are in a crisis. Drastic and preventative action needs to be taken as this is unacceptable. There is no respect for the dead.

To see the bodies that are on the floor is unnecessary and insensitive. There is something rotten in the running of the Phoenix mortuary.

The health department must be taken to task for its incompetence and heads need to roll. It is time to hand the running of the mortuary back to the SAPS. It did a magnificent job while it was in charge.

I trust that the authorities will awaken from their slumber and deal with the harsh reality that the deceased have dignity and should not be abused in any manner as this goes against the core of our society.

These types of issues, if left unattended, are the seeds of destruction. I love the saying: “Good conduct sows good, and from bad springs eternal trouble.”

DHAYALAN MOODLEY

Mobeni Heights