Dead Cuban in Cuba: They Sent Back the Wrong Body

The family of a Laval resident who died while vacationing in Cuba last month is scrambling to find his remains after receiving the wrong body Friday.

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Miriam and Karam Jarjur have been trying for days to get an answer to a simple question, but no one has an explanation: “Where is our father?”

“Everyone says it's not their responsibility. But whose responsibility is it?” The daughter of Faraj Allah Jarjor, who died in Cuba on March 22, objects.

He and his family arrived at the Mélia Varadero Hotel two days ago for a week-long vacation.

However, the 68-year-old's fate took a tragic turn when he suffered a heart attack while swimming in the sea with his daughter.

“I started screaming: Help me!” says Miriam Jarjour in her apartment in Laval, surrounded by her loved ones.

No help

According to the family, there were no lifeguards near the beach. Annan Karam was the first to come and help them in vain.

Neither a doctor nor a nurse was said to be present in the hotel premises. So the staff Mr. Jarjor's body was placed on a deck chair on the beach and awaited the funeral procession.

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Faraj Allah Jarjor's body was found on the beach for several hours after his death on March 22 in Varadero, Cuba.

Photo provided by family

The remains were exposed to the Cuban sun for more than eight hours, until workers arrived to collect them late in the evening. The family never saw the body again.

In the following days, Mr. Zarjor's relatives, having ties to Cuba and companies specializing in this type of transportation, made several arrangements with the Canadian Embassy in Havana.

They had to pool their savings to pay the more than $10,000 in expenses to bring the body back to Montreal, where it would be buried.

Body in Montreal

The remains of the 60-year-old, who immigrated from Syria eight years ago, were expected to arrive at Montreal-Trudeau airport on Friday and then be collected by a funeral home.

The identification documents with the coffin Mr. By Jarjor. But the body inside was not right.

“I was in shock, I cried. What could I say to my mother?” Karam Jarjor recalled.

The remains sent to Canada were actually those of a hairy and tattooed Russian man 20 years younger than Mr. George.

Russian embassy officials have found the body of their citizen who died in Santa Lucia and returned him to his loved ones.

Mr. Jarjor's family has not heard from Ottawa and still does not know where the remains may be.

“Canadian officials need to check, it's not a T-shirt or something sent by Amazon,” complains Karam Jarjor.

Global Affairs Canada did not respond to our request for an interview on Sunday.