Death in An Apartment House
The old man who was found exactly one year after his death was almost blind and he did not mix with anybody so only his neighbors and the people living in the flat beneath his knew the common sounds from his daily life. For instance, did he watch TV, did he walk his floor in a noisy manner and what about the telephone? It appears that those who lived in the flat below his one had tried to make the janitor investigate the uncanny silence, the new reality of a no-sound-situation in his flat. However, when nobody answered the door bell the janitor took for granted that the almost blind, old man didn't want anyone visiting so he stopped his very shallow "investigation. I think that was the moment when he should have called the police, but he did not want to bother this old and sick man with professional investigations.
Nevertheless, investigations there were once again when the warm weather set in and the house suddenly was swarmed with insects. When that happened the dead and by now more or less skeletal man was detected. The newspapers wrote indignant articles about the case and that way we, the other inhabitants of the house, also learnt that this incident was not all that rare. Actually, many people were found days, weeks or even months after their death. These people were also those who did not have any funeral procession of friends and family as they most likely didn't have either.
An even worse case was of a man who was found in his flat five years after his death. Now that’s crazy as five years is not like not seeing someone for a week or two. Obviously this dead man's relatives or friends didn’t miss him so it must be surmised that he had neither. He too was a pensioner living off his pension and nobody noticed that he didn’t withdraw as much money as he used to. Also nobody wondered at the heaps of newspapers, magazines and advertising pamphlets by his door. Neither did anybody pay attention to the stench of death which must have oozed from his closed front door. Here we have a case of a human being who must have been invisible all his life and who was treated as non-existing even before his death. That is very, very sad, but as the newspapers said not all that uncommon these days.
Sådan KUNNE den gamle mand have boet
Both these cases - and all other cases like them - are embarrassing to the dead persons's immediate neighbourhood. One must wonder at this common absence of consideration for a fellow human being. The fact that someone may lie undetected in a building swarming with people and not being found for five years is almost unfathomable. The same goes for the other case I mention as one year is long too. One week or so may be understandable with people living by themselves, but neither five nor one years. I really think that we are obliged to pay attention to signs of illness or death close by. That is our duty as the good neighbour we all should be in an ideal society.
Jeg går meget ind for privatlivets fred, men det er svært at finde balance-punktet mellem privatliv og omsorg for ens næste. Personlig ville jeg reagere med vrede eller dyb undren, hvis nogen begyndte at holde øje med min status som levende/død, men samtidig ved jeg jo, at jeg - ligesom alle andre - lever på lånt tid, så hvordan dækker man sig ind, så man ikke ligger dér og "dunster" i månedsvis, medens maddikerne holder festmåltid? Det er et spørgsmål, som jeg har besluttet mig for at løse i år, hvis det da er muligt .....
Ingen kommentarer:
Send en kommentar