Letters: Buried in America or at home, the soil is the same

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To the Editor:

In a staggering battle with cancer that did not take long, we lost an important member of our community Nov. 15. His name was Malok Magor, and he was survived by two sons and a wife.

For our community, there were two things about Magor that set him apart: He was a man who looked to the future, and he set a precedent by his courageous decision not to go along with the usual transporting of a deceased person back to South Sudan. Malok wisely remembered what the Bible says -- man comes from soil and returns to soil -- and he told his wife to bury him in Syracuse.

Malok worked to save money for the future of his family. He never wasted money and never drove luxury cars as others do. At the same time, he never forgot his house and children. He furnished his house well, paid his son's school fees and took care of his responsibility as a parent and head of the household. Most importantly, Malok was ready to lend money to any member in the community who was in need.

The South Sudanese usually transport bodies back to South Sudan for funerals. We should consider becoming a citizen of another country, and forget about nostalgia that may blind us to our new reality. We have learned from the Bible that God created man from soil and will return him to soil. This soil has no boundaries; it is the same soil whether in America or in South Sudan. There is no compelling reason for us to incur the high financial cost of transporting our dead bodies to South Sudan, especially when this transportation includes round-trip tickets for wife, son or daughter and other family members who must accompany the body. People who might be transported to their countries are diplomatic staff members and those who were on a journey for treatment and died outside their state, as well as non-citizens who are able financially to do so. But not everyone we lose in our community must be returned to his country of birth to be buried.

The practice of sending bodies back home is unnecessary. The money we use for transporting bodies should go to grieving families instead.

If our respectful member, Malok set forth this precedent, it should be followed in the future by considering not transporting bodies to South Sudan, except in special cases.

All South Sudanese, especially those who become citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries, should think about not taking away a father, mother, or any member of the family from the rest of family to be buried in South Sudan.

Martin Gop

Syracuse