The Lonely Funeral
May 20th, 2010 by Steve BowbrickSomething quite humbling from Holland. Michele Ernsting made this lovely programme for Radio Netherlands Worldwide (it's in English) and the BBC World Service transmitted it as part of the Global Perspective series. It says here:
Every year up to twenty people die completely alone in Amsterdam. There are no friends or family to prepare their funeral or mourn over the body. Sometimes these people are illegal migrants, drug mules, or simply people who for one reason or another, cut-off all social contacts. Poet Frank Starik decided that these people also deserved to be eulogized. He contacted the Amsterdam city services and asked if he could take part in these forgotten funerals. Producer Michele Ernsting of Radio Netherlands Worldwide brings us the story of the Lonely Funeral.
Here's the MP3.
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