Middle East & Africa | Fast funerals in Conakry

Why hearses sport sirens and lights in Guinea

Bodies do not do well in the stifling heat, especially if stuck in traffic

|CONAKRY

A SIREN wails out across the jammed streets of Conakry, the capital of Guinea. As horns toot, vehicles part for a car sporting a spinning blue light. It is not the police or an ambulance. Instead a hearse comes wailing through. Politicians and the emergency services are not the only ones to use lights and sirens in Conakry. Congestion is so bad that the dead use them, too.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Do not go gently”

Handle with care

From the June 2nd 2018 edition

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