Ashes

Dear Friends,

The following story made me think that as long as we believe in spirits, we will honour our deceased’s last wishes, or do as we think they might have liked.   

According to an article in yesterday's Toronto Star, a few years ago, the Canadian government granted asylum to a Chinese woman who was a victim of religious persecution in her homeland. Before becoming a permanent resident, she died of cancer.  Three years later, her children still cannot fulfill their mother’s wish, and take her ashes back to China because the Immigration Office has lost her Chinese ID.

Once I got over the sadness of the story, the “Columbo” in me detected some bizarreness in it. 

How can only one piece of paper disappear from a file full of documents? Doesn't children's birth-certificate prove the name and the nationality of their mother? If the Chinese government knew the person well enough to persecute her, why does it need proof of her citizenship? With or without an ID, can this voyage take place at all? I’m not sure about China, but some countries don’t take well to the defector’s return, especially in an urn or a box.  

While mulling these questions in my head, wishing the court reporter had written a multifaceted piece instead, the Canadian in me felt a bit offended!

Being an expatriate myself, I pondered where I would like to see Me rest in peace. Only one answer came to mind – Ontario!

If this land was good enough to take me in, it sure is good enough to hold me in, eternally.

I suppose, after all, home is where the ashes are - accepted and filed!

What have you accepted and filed, today?