Feature 
 

Mercy Acts

Good Samaritan

Giving those who lose their lives in Corona a honourable burial or cremation is a task that only a few can perform with pride.

By Shazman Shariff | June 2021
Good-Samaritan
Courtesy Côme Bastin, a French photographer

When I ask Ibrahim about the most heart-wrenching memory he finds hard to push aside, he narrates in a solemn tone the desperate and hauling efforts of a pregnant woman searching for a hospital to deliver her child but she unfortunately suffered a stillbirth. “It was a beautiful baby”. He couldn’t help mournfully glancing at the little body placed in a carton which he carried in his car for burial.

Though the pandemic unleashed monstrous fear and misery, it has also opened floodgates of compassion and magnanimity that have been brought people together in the fight to crush the virus-annihilating lives ceaselessly. Mohammed Ibrahim Akram, a business graduate and owner of a chain of restaurants in Bangalore, has been juggling his time and resources since last year to ensure people dying of Covid-19 are consigned to the grave with respect. Having witnessed innumerable demises, he writhes in pain as he talks about the dreadfulness which now accompanies death. “Earlier people used to cry when they lost a loved one, now they are pushing away the bodies fearing the virus.” He laments that families abandon their aged parents who test positive as they feel scared of contracting Covid-19. He too had tested positive, but that does not deter him from the service as he moves around the city in his car-turned ambulance, wearing a mask and carrying a bottle of sanitizer.

Working as a volunteer for Mercy Angels (see box), Ibrahim in his mid-forties and a father of three kids, feels the service of sending people on their final journey exemplifies the true spirit of humanity and secularism. “It is a duty that must be performed irrespective of the religion of the person - we bury, we cremate with all due solemnity.” He illustrates the statement with his experience of performing the last honours of a Hindu boy from West Bengal who had no relatives in Bangalore. “They sent a letter with instructions and I hired a priest to carry out the ceremony.” Ibrahim later carried his ashes to Arkavathi River, about fifty eight kilometres away from Bangalore for immersion as lakes within the city were closed due to the lockdown.

On another occasion he stepped in to carry out the last rites of a man, who lost his entire family to Corona, except the son, who was hospitalized. “I carry the water pot around the funeral pier, doing everything that is required; it does not affect my faith as a Muslim”, he says convincingly. Expanding further on the topic he says even the people meticulous about religious belief want us to perform the rites as they don’t want to come close to bodies.

Who are Mercy Angels?
When the world was reeling under the wrath of Corona in the first wave, a group of people in Bangalore came together to form Mercy Mission (MM) - a coalition of over twenty NGOs working to cope up with the clamouring demand for medical and food supplies. Mercy Angels, one of the branches of MM, is a group of about forty volunteers belonging to various fields like IT, business and medicine, who have joined hands to provide dignified burials to people who lose their battle with the virus. Speaking on behalf of MM, Mohammed Ismail, a volunteer, said as the fear of contracting the virus holds back the family members to come forth to perform the last rites of their loved ones, Mercy Angles perform the rituals. The rising number of deaths (Bangalore reported the maximum number of deaths in the second wave according to Times of India) called for an organized setup to ensure the deceased were sent on their last journey with dignity and respect.

As his family is yet to know about his humanitarian activities in entirety, he relies on some believable excuses to cleverly hoodwink his mother or wife and dash out at odd hours.

What ignited the overpowering fellow feeling in him was the sight of despondent migrants leaving for their homes on foot - the dejected daily wage earners who had lost livelihoods - the depressed auto rickshaw drivers who had no passengers to ferry. This concern paved the way for the “Free Food” drive which he started from the kitchen at his restaurant to provide food to those who had no means of subsistence due to the lockdown. The venture soon garnered support from his circle of people who raised funds to feed almost two lakh souls last year. He also got trained to carry out testing and feels glad he performed Corona tests for members of the police Force.

“This is the time when one should only care about saving lives and care little for money or anything else.” However, his spirited tone plummets when he says all efforts and prayers could not save the life of his loyal staff member whom he cremated recently. He does not keep a record of the bodies he had buried, but he can fathom the vacuum created in many households where, after the death of parents, tearful orphans await an angel for help.

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