Achi news desk-
A Montreal-area family confirmed to CTV News that the body of their loved one who died while on vacation in Cuba is being returned to Canada after it was mistakenly sent to Russia.
Miriam Jarjour said in an interview Thursday that she and her brother identified their father’s body after receiving evidence from the Canadian government.
Faraj Jarjour, 68, died on March 22 in Varadero, Cuba, and when they went to identify the father of two, a Russian man about 20 years younger than him – who didn’t look like him – was in the coffin.
The family is still waiting for more details on how and when his body will be returned to Canada.
“We are not satisfied until now… we don’t know when my father’s body will arrive. I didn’t have a funeral for my father. We don’t sleep well,” Miriam said. “We just went on a little vacation, but the vacation was a disaster.”
It was a tiring, destructive and long experience that took a heavy toll on her mother.
She also confirmed that the Cuban government has refunded the family the $10,000 they paid to get their father back. “We are not okay. The money means nothing to us because of what happened,” Miriam said.
On Wednesday, the Cuban foreign minister apologized to the family on social media.
“The authorities in Cuba are investigating to clarify the incident. I have conveyed my condolences and apologies from the bottom of my heart to the relatives and friends of the deceased.”
The Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Melanie Jolly, called it an “unimaginable situation” on social media, and added that “Canada will continue to help the Jarjour family until this situation is resolved.”
