1,300 bodies transferred to Armenia
The news of a relative dying abroad adds panic to sorrow: how will his body be transferred to Armenia?
Not finding necessary financial means, some come to grips with the fact that, for instance, their parents must be buried on foreign soil. However, others disregard the hardships and do everything they can to fulfill the last wish of the deceased.
Nearly 1,300 bodies were brought to Armenia by airplane last year alone and that number has passed 300 in the first quarter of this year. The majority of them are transferred from the CIS countries, but there are no statistics on the age group.
Resident of Sevkar village of Tavush province Artur Yesayan's father died in Moscow. The father had expressed the desire to be buried in the Homeland and his son fulfilled his father's desire. He received words of appraisal, while people who had buried their relatives on foreign soil were ashamed. It is worth mentioning that all villagers of Sevkar have relatives abroad.
According to Artur, there are different countries in Moscow that go to the morgue and offer their services to transfer the body to the Homeland. Receiving consent, those companies are in charge of transferring the body and even take care of expenses for the tombstone and the clothes of the deceased. The price list of those companies is almost the same.
For instance, the company "Ritualnaya ucluga" transfers the body of the deceased from Moscow to Armenia for 35,000-40,000 rubles (nearly 450,000-520,000 drams).
Transferring the body of a deceased from other countries to Armenia is more expensive and starts from 5,000 dollars.
