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| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Momodou |
Posted - 12 Aug 2020 : 21:41:32
THE FABLE OF JALLOW MAAYA TA: THE NEED FOR DEAD CERTIFICATES
By Dembo Fatty
As a young lad in Kuntaur, I chanced on what I now call a fable as the story sounded impossible but appeared to have happened in the past. The story goes that an individual that was known after the fact as Jallow Maayata “died” and was buried. This man was our Gambian Lazarus who defied death and lived to tell the story. He succeeded where many failed.
He was reported to have come back to his abode after his burial. Sounds crazy? I share your feelings as well. I have not been able to verify the story because I needed to meet a living witness but that was not available by then and so, I took it as a fable.
However, I am sure as many of you reading this post have heard of stories of people being prepared for burial who sneezed while being given the ritual bath and sometimes at the prayer session or on the way to the grave yard.
Jallow Maayata was reported to have come back after his burial and I am sure the first person to have met him probably collapsed in disbelieve. Jallow Maayata is Fulani which simply means “Jallow does not die”. He was reported to have spent the last years of his life fetching water from the river and serving thirsty people at the taxi garage and market for free. He led a very simple life of service afterwards.
The reason why I am writing about this fable/story is that for the most part, especially in our rural communities, many of our dead are not clinically certified as so. It just takes one elder in the community to pronounce that someone was dead for the chain reaction of digging the grave and funeral rites to set in motion. If you are an elderly person in the community, chances are that you may enjoy a few hours of ‘wake keeping” but for young children, deaths are not announced. A few people will hurriedly make the decisions and bury within few hours and sometimes less than two hours.
My concern is that all of these people who make the decisions are not medically trained personnel and they are making certifications for which they have not been trained. Some of these “dead” could simply have fallen into coma and were not dead otherwise; the story of Jallow Maayata would not have gotten traction.
During the months of August and September, the availability of stagnant water increases water borne diseases and malaria is at its peak during this season. Young children and babies are most susceptible given that diets during this time are very low in nutrients and coupled with mosquitoes, it’s just a matter of time before malaria claims its victims across the country.
I am trying to give these children and babies a second chance at life. It would be my proposal that from henceforth, all deaths must be certified by medical personnel even if it were a Community Health Nurse (CHN) who occupies the lower rank of our medical staff. Most villages are at least 10 to 15 kilometers away from a health facility and they should be called upon to provide a second opinion before anyone is buried. Yes, am sure you are thinking about costs. But there are no costs greater than burying someone who is not dead. Society owes it to its members however much the cost.
And if this sounds quite very difficult to implement even though I believe it can be done, then we must institute a Death Certification Committee in each community who must all sign and agree than an individual was indeed dead. They must sign a standard form and make a copy available to the Alkalo. This process will avoid the possibility of burying people who are not dead or at least will require a thorough second, or third opinions before such decisions are concluded.
I am inclined to believe that some people were buried who were not dead. I hope I am just wrong in my believe. |
| 3 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| toubab1020 |
Posted - 17 Aug 2020 : 16:23:15
rassimian as usual an excellent observation and reply,being a simple soul (no pun intended !)you have highlighted the advances in medicine that have taken place over the years.
"In rural Gambia a medically trained person must at least be the one to ascertain whether someone has died not an elder. With regard to each community or village any Death Certification Committee must contain a medically qualified or experienced person within it or the possibility of mistakes being made is likely to continue."
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quote:
Originally posted by rassimian
Dembo Fatty is likely to be correct in his last statement that 'some people were buried who were not dead' Even in the rest of the world there have been many documented cases of people who have 'come back to life' whilst in the mortuary and also in a coffin. The reason for this is not some 'magic' or supernatural act but just by virtue that the scientific definition of death has changed over the last few decades and is no longer a simplistic one such as the person is no longer breathing or a pulse or heartbeat cannot be established. The latest scientific explanation defines death as the absence of brain stem activity but without sophisticated medical equipment this is not always possible to accurately ascertain. In rural Gambia a medically trained person must at least be the one to ascertain whether someone has died not an elder. With regard to each community or village any Death Certification Committee must contain a medically qualified or experienced person within it or the possibility of mistakes being made is likely to continue.
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| rassimian |
Posted - 17 Aug 2020 : 12:46:20
Dembo Fatty is likely to be correct in his last statement that 'some people were buried who were not dead' Even in the rest of the world there have been many documented cases of people who have 'come back to life' whilst in the mortuary and also in a coffin. The reason for this is not some 'magic' or supernatural act but just by virtue that the scientific definition of death has changed over the last few decades and is no longer a simplistic one such as the person is no longer breathing or a pulse or heartbeat cannot be established. The latest scientific explanation defines death as the absence of brain stem activity but without sophisticated medical equipment this is not always possible to accurately ascertain. In rural Gambia a medically trained person must at least be the one to ascertain whether someone has died not an elder. With regard to each community or village any Death Certification Committee must contain a medically qualified or experienced person within it or the possibility of mistakes being made is likely to continue. |
| toubab1020 |
Posted - 13 Aug 2020 : 13:15:41
I am wondering if this excellent caring organisation could think about talking to their partners and contacts within the administration in offering transport help for those who are authorised to issue Death Certificates.
https://www.riders.org/where-we-work/the-gambia/health/ |
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