No burial place for Buddhist woman who died in Cyprus

THE family of a Buddhist woman who died in Cyprus seven days ago have not been able to lay her to rest as they cannot afford to send her body back to Thailand and the Church will not allow her burial in an Orthodox cemetery.

Buns Ap Bunchrai, 72, had been visiting her daughter Meliki and Cypriot son-in-law Marios Sotiriou when she died on July 22. Her body has since been kept in the morgue at Limassol General Hospital because the family cannot afford the thousands of pounds needed for transporting the body back to Thailand for burial.

Speaking to television channels yesterday, Bunchrai’s son-in-law said that ever since his mother-in-law’s death he and his wife had been waiting for an answer on what would happen. "All we want to do is bury her. She’s my mother-in-law… she’s a person. What do they want me to do, bury her in my garden?"

His tearful wife said: "We just want a small place for her, even without a priest. She doesn’t need a Church service or a cross. Where can we find £6,000 or £7,000 to send her back?"

Interior Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou has now offered his assistance, saying, "I am prepared to take responsibility for the costs of sending the woman back to be buried in her own country."

United Democrat Deputy George Christofides said a long-term solution was needed, "We finally have to do something about finding a place for people in these instances to be buried."

While Muslim, Catholic and Protestant graveyards do exist in Cyprus, there are no provisions for other religions, and the Greek Orthodox Church does not allow people who have not been baptised in the faith to be buried in its cemeteries.