‘Torturous ordeal’

The family of a British woman who drowned while on vacation in the island has been left distressed after trying unsuccessfully for almost three months to obtain a death certificate from Jamaican authorities to bury her.

Kerita Solomon died in March after going for an early morning swim in Bluefields, Westmoreland, a week shy of her planned departure for home. She was on a six-week stay from the United Kingdom.

Solomon had made several trips to Jamaica in the past and considered the country her second home, her daughter-in-law, Avia Rochester-Solomon, told The Gleaner on Tuesday.

“The sudden loss has left us in a state of immense sorrow and shock. However, the prolonged wait to obtain her death certificate has turned an already unbearable situation into an almost torturous ordeal,” Rochester-Solomon said.

She said the family’s efforts to obtain the document that would facilitate the repatriation of the body have been met with roadblocks which began with an insistence by the police that an autopsy be done by a state pathologist.

Solomon said since that point, the family has experienced nothing but “profound frustration and anguish” because of the “excruciatingly slow process”.

GETTING PATHOLOGY REPORT

She said, initially, the family was informed that a pathology report was necessary and would take months because of a backlog.

Solomon said after several calls to known associates, the projected wait time was cut down to a month.

However, she said, to the family’s dismay, when the report was finally issued, it contained an error.

A town was listed where a parish should have been.

Rochester-Solomon said the family was told that unless this was corrected, a judge or coroner could not sign off. And without the report, the death certificate could not be issued.

“This delay has not only prevented us from fulfilling the necessary legal and logistical requirements, but has also stymied our ability to process our grief and begin to heal,” Rochester-Solomon said.

“The emotional toll of this wait is compounded by the practical difficulties we face. Each day that passes without resolution adds to our distress as we are left in a painful limbo,” she added.

She said the “bureaucratic” delays appear endless and lamented the seeming lack of urgency or empathy from those responsible for issuing the certificate.

She said the updated document remained at the Savanna-la-Mar Court House in Westmoreland, awaiting a signature.

The Gleaner contacted the Court Administration Division (CAD) on Tuesday and was told that inquiries were being made into the matter.

“My mother’s death certificate is not just a piece of paper. It is the key to providing her with the dignity she deserves in death and offering us, her family, some semblance of closure. We have adhered to every procedural requirement only to be met with a system that moves at a glacial pace, indifferent to the human suffering it exacerbates,” Rochester-Solomon said.

“I implore the relevant authorities to recognise the human cost of these delays. Expedite the process, not just for my family, but for all those who find themselves trapped in this agonising wait. No family should have to endure such prolonged suffering after the loss of a loved one,” she added.

Solomon asserted that her family was not seeking special treatment but instead, for the system to work as it should.

She said her request was simply a plea for compassion, efficiency, and the prompt delivery of what should be a fundamental right: a timely death certificate.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com