Proper funerals for ex pats

[zola]

I would like to suggest that we have a couple of fund raising days maybe each year, and maybe have a committee started for the local cemetary. All of us here have at some point attended a funeral and come away feeling really sad as there is no respect, no service, no real preparation. It isn't nice to have a digger revving it's engine half way through some body talking, or men jumping into the hole because it's not dug out properly and the coffin doesn't fit, or the refridgerated van being parked next to the grave taking up what little room there is around the grave,  Then the men from the Belediye are hanging around waiting to fill in the hole before everyone is ready to leave like we are on a stopwatch.
 Many of us will choose to be buried here, i think this could be very upsetting for our families who choose to come over to attend a funeral as it seems to be such a lash up unlike any funeral any of us would like to attend in the UK.
If we had a committee at least we could have it for everyone who wishes to be buried here. It could pay for the up keep of the look of the British part, be cleared, have some flowers put around, attempt to have a proper pathway the list is endless. We do have people here that would be more than happy to at least say a few prayers, organise some music maybe. At least we could have some flowers which could come out of the funds.
We need to organise ourselves so when our family come from miles away it looks like some effort has been made in advance.
Muslims in the UK have their own funerals and facilities and more and more English and other foreign people are making Turkey their homes. I really feel that we need as a community to address this problem properly before we are all put off attending any more of these awful sad, bleak funerals .

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[Islands]

I feel you have a good point here Zola.  It would be reassuring to families to know that their loved ones were treated with some dignity in Death.  As there is now a good percentage of permanent ex pat residents it would seem viable to be able to arrange some sort of working party for this.