Ajman: Indian social worker Thamarassery Palorakunnummal Ashraf aka Ashraf Thamarassery is a familiar name not just to his compatriots but also to several other nationalities living in the UAE.
Dubbed as the guardian of the dead, Ashraf has been assisting with the repatriation of dead bodies from the UAE for the past 16 years. Till the end of 2016, he said, he had helped repatriate bodies of 3,886 expatriates.
It all started when he once visited a friend in a Sharjah hospital in 2000. “I happened to see two youngsters crying on the corridor. Then I got to know their father had passed away and they had no clue about how to take his body home,” Ashraf told Gulf News.
At the time, Ashraf himself did not know the procedures involved in sending dead bodies to various countries. Nevertheless, he decided to help the two youths and accompanied them to all government departments concerned to complete legal formalities. “It took five days for us to finish the paper works,” Ashraf recollected.
Someone who had heard about Ashraf’s kind act sought his help when a Bangladeshi worker died a few days later. After that, Ashraf’s phone would ring every time family members or friends of someone who died were at a loss on what to do to repatriate the body.
“Initially I used to help send five or six bodies a month. Now, it has gone up to 35 to 40. I am getting calls to help at least two or three cases every day and, on some days, it goes up to five or six.”
A two-year-old Indian baby and a 105-year-old Italian grandma, who was on a cruise to Fujairah, are among those who have found help from Ashraf on their final journey.
For the man known for helping the dead reach their final resting place, the act of giving has been indeed been the most satisfying aspect of helping grieving families taking the bodies of their dear ones home.
He does not expect anything in return, except for the prayers from them. “That is my biggest asset,” said Ashraf, who has to spend almost Dh200 from his pocket for running around for the paper works for each case.
He said he had also dug deep into his pocket at times when he found families unable to meet the expenses for the repatriation. On many occasions, he has also accompanied the bodies when there was no one else to do so. However, he does not keep any personal relationship with the families whom he has helped. “I tell them not to even to thank me once they reach home. I usually tell everyone not to call me unless it is an urgent matter because I never know when I will miss a call from a person in need of my support.”
Ashraf also tries not to think about the cases he has handled. “Every death is painful and a tragedy for the family. Earlier I was finding it difficult to cope with the emotional impact. I wouldn’t have been able to eat food if I had continued that way. I have overcome that stage and I just shut myself away from their stories and forget everything once I reach home. It’s a blessing that I am able to forget it.”
Weighty concerns
However, he still has concerns about the increasing number of suicides among Indians, especially among people hailing from his home state of Kerala, and about the disparities in charges levied by airlines for flying dead bodies.
“Last year, I had attended to 35 suicide cases including that of 19 Keralites and 11 Tamils. This is a worrying trend. I hope there will be better awareness programmes to tackle this social issue.”
While national airlines from GCC countries and all airlines from Pakistan transport the bodies of their nationalities free of cost, Ashraf feels pained to see his compatriots’ bodies being weighed by their national carrier and charged as per their weight.
“Air India weighs the bodies and charges Dh18 per kilo. I feel it is a disrespect to weigh bodies like commodities. Let them fix a fee if they cannot afford to fly the bodies for free. But [to me] this is inhumane,” he said.
He hopes that the Indian government, which honoured him with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award in 2015, will soon find a solution for this. The much-deserved award, in fact, helped Ashraf in carrying out his voluntary work faster as most people started recognising him after the publicity he received through the media.
“Everyone in the government departments I visit for paper works knows me. Dubai Police honoured me at a function held in Burj Khalifa. I now have direct access to senior officials to help do the repatriation procedures faster. I am really thankful to the Indian government for this recognition.”
In the Year of Giving, he has only one request to the UAE government, which he appreciates for profoundly supporting the needy. “The government here is known for supporting the needy always, even without giving such a name to the year. I just wish that they will set up a single-window system to carry out the paper works under various departments for the repatriation of the dead bodies. It will be a great gift to thousands of families at a time when they are reeling under the trauma of losing someone special.”
He suggested that a single-window system for repatriation procedures be established in Muhaisnha where embalming is done for expats who die in Dubai and Northern Emirates except for Ras Al Khaimah.
