Final farewell
Since flights were suspended, UAE residents were unable to attend the funerals of their loved ones in their home countries and had to watch the funeral ceremonies online
Screen Grab
Prayers being performed for Jeuel G. Jomay in Kerala. The ceremony was watched by his family here in the UAE on Facebook.
Even in non-coronavirus cases, flight suspensions meant that some residents were not able to attend funerals of loved ones in other countries.
Among them: A Keralite family in the UAE who watched the funeral of their cancer-stricken son Jeuel G. Jomay, a Grade 10 student at a Sharjah school, on Facebook on April 16. They could not accompany his body when it was flown to native Kerala under lockdown.
Jeuel’s funeral ceremony back home began at 4am in the UAE. His cousin told Gulf News her family and Jeuel’s family watched the five-hour ceremony on Facebook while the St Mary’s Church in Sharjah provided a link to the YouTube livestreaming on its website for members here to watch the service.
“None of the flights was getting sanctioned soon. Jeuel’s father wanted to fly with him. But that was not possible,” the cousin said at the time.
Similarly, on April 17, Dubai-based Pakistani expat Ghulam Mustafa Awan watched the funeral of his father Malik Nazir Ahmad in Pakistan on video. Ahmad had died of a heart and lung condition. “I tried everything, but I couldn’t go and see the face of my father one last time,” said Awan.