The Cost of Death in Burma

By AUNG THET WINE

RANGOON—Ma Hnin Sanda, 25, lies on her bed suffering from severe tuberculosis, waiting for her last day on Earth in a small hut in Sein Sar Pin village. Her body is wasted, her eyes sunken and her bones protrude from her body because of her prolonged illness.

Nearby, her aunt, Daw Win Mar, recites the metta sutta and preys for her niece’s improved health but at the same time, she feels anxious because she knows if her niece dies she will have the burden of onerous funeral expenses.

In earlier days, the cost of a funeral would be taken in stride, but in Naypyidaw, the new capital, because of government-imposed rules it can force people to borrow money and go into serious debt.

Rising funeral expenses are making it harder for people to live in Burma.

Traditionally, villagers living around the administrative capital of the Burmese military regime simply buried loved ones in graveyards near their village, with little real expense.

But in 2005, when the junta claimed this area as the new capital, villagers were ordered not to bury the dead in a village graveyard. Authorities ordered that all bodies must be cremated and buried in a cemetery in Pyinmana city.

Then on October 15, 2008, the junta opened a new cemetery in Naypyidaw itself at the bottom of Pho Saung Hill, 25 miles from Pyinmana Township, and ordered that all funeral services in the region be performed at the new location, which has imposed even more troubles.

Naypyidaw is surrounded by many villages in Kyi Taung Kan village tract and Gone Min Kwin village tract of Pyinmana Township.

Poor villagers must now spend as much as 120,000 kyat ($94) or more for a funeral and cremation in Pyinmana cemetery.

"The rent for a funeral van is about 25,000 kyat ($19.6); a hall rental at least 8,000 kyat ($6.2); and each vehicle is 25,000 kyat,” said a resident of Pyin Mana Naypyidaw. “Also, if a corpse is kept in a refrigerated mortuary, we must spend 1,500 kyat ($1.18) a day.

“In total, we must spend at least 120,000 kyat for a funeral and that doesn't include food for visitors. We can’t afford such costs."

If a family wanted extra religious items and rituals, the cost could grow to 150,000 kyat ($118), he said.

Because most villagers grow vegetables on small plots of land or work as menial laborers, they are forced to borrow money at a 20 percent interest rate.

Residents of Rangoon face similar problems, but they can receive help, through a private organization, Free Funeral Services Society (FFSS), that is unavailable to Naypyidaw residents

For several years, volunteers and self-help groups have offered free funeral services, relieving poor residents of the former capital of some of the burdens surrounding the death of a loved one.

"FFSS usually does around 40 to 50 funerals a day,” said an official with the organization based in Thingangyune Township in Rangoon. “We take care of everything: renting a funeral van, an aluminum coffin and the expenses for the mortuary and cremation.”

"We take responsibility until the body is completely cremated,” said a staff member.

Even with the free services, however, the total cost for a funeral may reach 100,000 kyat ($ 78.7) in Rangoon, residents say.

"If the family wants to build a tomb, they must buy a piece of land and it may cost from 300,000 to 400,000 kyat($ 236 to $ 315)," said a staff member at the Rangoon Municipal Development Committee.

Many residents say they think ahead about where they want to die.

A 75-year-old grandmother in Hlaingtharyar Township in Rangoon said: "In our rural area, the community helps each other in social affairs, and there are not many expenses for a funeral. If I am going to die, I will go back to my village and die there. If I died in the city, my sons and daughters would be in debt because of my funeral, and I don't want them owing a lot of debt.”

Another alternative used by some poor residents in villages around Rangoon is to allow a “funeral contractor” to handle the funeral.

"Basically, a funeral contractor means the person runs a gambling den at the funeral home,” said a resident of Shwe Pyi Thar village in Rangoon. “People come to the funeral and gamble. They share some of the money with the family and in return, the poor family receives a funeral service."