Ayinde Summey

By: Ayinde Summey

MAIN IMAGE: 12 rangers from the Virunga National Park in the DRC, famed for its gorillas, have been killed in an attack by suspected Hutu rebels. SOURCE: Francesco Ungaro, Pexels

A deadly armed attack on a village in the Virunga National Park in Democratic Republic of Congo has left 18 people dead.

According to park officials, among those killed in the raid by about 60 suspected members of Hutu militia Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) were 12 park rangers who were protecting a convoy of civilians.

Virunga is the oldest national park in Africa and is home to about half of the world’s gorillas drawing many visitors. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The park authorities said the attack near Rumangabo Village has resulted in substantial loss of life. Park staff and rangers were killed as they tried to defend villagers. However, a statement added, the information about the attackers was still not clear.

“At this time, all available information indicates that this was an attack on the local civilian population.”

While rangers and other workers were not the primary target many lost their lives helping villagers. About 200 rangers have been killed in past attacks.

The armed Hutu rebel group was formed in 2000 with the aim of countering Tutsi influence in the region. They are considered to be one of the last factions still involved in remnant battles arising from the 1994 Rwandan Genocide that resulted in the deaths of almost a million Rwandans. 

By Ayinde Summey

MAIN IMAGE: The burial of a coronavirus victim in Saudi Arabia. Source: @MedinahDate

As the global coronavirus pandemic has affected many parts of our lives, death rituals across cultures have not been spared.  

Countries like the United States have banned funeral gatherings to prevent virus transmission, while other countries such as the UK potentially looking to do the same. In South Africa funerals are still allowed but the number of mourners has been restricted and only certain categories of people related to the deceased may attend.  

Across the world there is concern about the numbers of mourners gathering to attend services. Social distancing measures are making the events stressful for families.

The BBC reports that this has prompted former Welsh lawmaker Lorraine Barrett to suggest a ban on funeral services in Wales. There the enforcement of social distancing has required that mourners keep at least 2 meters from one another. She believes that this is difficult to achieve at a funeral. 

Barrett told the broadcaster that while the limits imposed by various crematoriums and funeral parlours have been put in place to facilitate gatherings, the social distancing measures mean that people are not able to get the comfort they need as they grieve.

Current guidelines allow only immediate family member to be in attendance but Barrett questioned how this could be determined and who would be allowed to attend.

“I’ve dealt with families with 10 siblings, 25 grandchildren, and I’ve heard of families now who are having to decide which members of their family can go and it’s really, really distressing,” Barrett told the BBC.

In Iraq and other countries in the Arab world, burial procedures have been drastically altered.  

In normal circumstances, the bodies of the deceased would be washed and prepared by community members. This goes against World Health Organization guidelines which advise against physical contact.  

It has also been difficult to find places to conduct burials because of anxiety about contamination of corpses and possible virus transmission. The family members of people who have died of other causes are resisting burials of COVID-19 victims in the same site as their loved ones. This has resulted in delays on arranging the burials. 

“It look eight days to get the body of my father from the morgue” Abdul-Hadi Majid, an Iraqi soldier who were among a group that were forced to wait. 

By Ayinde Summey

MAIN IMAGE: Police escort a bride to a waiting police van after they arrested her for breaking the coronavirus regulations at her wedding in Richards Bay at the weekend. The image has been widely shared on social media. Source: Twitter.

What was supposed to be a joyous wedding celebrated under the year-round South African sun turned into a catastrophe with the arrest of the entire wedding party of 53 people in Richards Bay at the weekend. 

The couple were arrested after they were reported anonymously to the police for breaking the mandatory government regulations governing social distancing during the nationwide shutdown due to COVID-19.  

This is the second time a wedding party has been broken up by police in the KwaZulu Natal province since the start of the lockdown. The couple was in the middle of declaring their vows when several heavily armed police officers arrived.  

The police are under instruction to arrest those violating the government’s orders to stay at home.  

At the previous incident, at a considerably larger event, the police arrived after the vows ceremony and just as the party was about to eat. In this instance, the police asked the crowd to disperse and arrested only the bride and groom, who were fined R1000. 

Other prospective brides and grooms have been making sure they don’t similarly face the long arm of the law.  

In Cape Town, one couple went through with their big day anyway – but with a difference. They exchanged vows with cardboard cutout figures to serve as “guests” while their dog acted as the ring-bearer.  

Dan Mace surprised his fiancee Gabi Esterhuizen with a home vows ceremony on the day they should have been married – attended by a number of cardboard ‘guests’. Source: Dan Mace YouTube

The groom, Dan Mace, had contracted coronavirus on a trip to the US and had been quarantined before the wedding.

He and fiancee Gabi Esterhuizen had hoped to find a way to have a ceremony despite the government’s orders but realised they would have to postpone. So Mace decided to surprise Esterhuizen with an alternative ceremony in their garden, sharing their big moment on YouTube.  

Mace told the Cape Times he was not against the restrictions.  

“I think that our president as well as the supporting organisations have taken bold but well needed steps to ensure that we beat this virus, but that can only happen if we work together and follow the rules,”  he said.

The couple still plans to have a formal wedding with their original guests in December and they will take the extra time to finetune their long-delayed ceremony for the summer.