Interview: “I Also Cry, I Have The Same Human Feelings”

How long have you been a mortuary attendant?
I've been working as a mortuary attendant now for 26 years. I hail from Djottin in Bui Division.

When did you begin doing this work? 
I began in Saint Elizabeth Catholic General Hospital Shisong in 1999 when the mortuary was set up. 

Was the position advertised or you applied? 
No, sir. Before the setting up of the mortuary, I was already a worker in the hospital. 

What were you doing? 
I was a gardener in the hospital. 

Did you apply to be a mortuary attendant or they chose you? 
I was chosen and sent to join the team of new mortuary attendants starting the department in 1999. 

So did they ask your opinion or they just chose you to go and work in the mortuary? 
They asked me my opinion and I accepted.

You accepted? Why did you accept? Because the salary was better? 
When you work in an institution and you are sent to a department and if you are able to do it, you do. If you are not, then you inform your boss. 

So you were the first mortuary attendant in Shisong Hospital?
There were three of us. I joined some staff who were senior to me.

The mortuary was opened in 1999.  How come the other people were senior to you? 
They were already working in other departments in the hospital longer than me. That is why they were senior to me.  

So when they sent you to the mortuary, were you not afraid, given the stories that they tell about mortuaries? 
I was not afraid. 

Why were you so bold? 
It's my nature. 

So by nature you are a bold person? 
Yes

And so when you started, how did you find the work? 
It was very normal. 

Very normal? 
Yes, till today. 

I understand you went on retirement and they called you back to continue working? 
Yes, I went on retirement last year.  

Why did they call you back? 
It was because there was no stable person to take over the department from me. So they gave me two men to train. 

So how have they been doing in the past one year? 
They are doing fine. 

Please, tell us about your normal work day. When you come to work, from the morning till closing. 
We start work at 6.45 am. I get up at 6 am and prepare for work.  

You live in Kumbo town or in Shisong village? 
I live in Shisong. I walk to hospital and it takes about 15 minutes.

You get to the hospital at 6.45 am, then what do you do? 
Normally we start with prayers in the chapel. When there is mass, we can finish at 7.45 am or 7.30 am. 

But if they are just prayers? 
If they are prayers, they last till 7.30 am.  

And after the prayers you get to your station, what do you begin to do? 
I begin to work on my people. 

So there are corpses to handle everyday? 
Yes. 

And they do corpse removal or coffining everyday? 
Yes. 

In Yaounde and other mortuaries in the big cities, when people come to keep corpses, they ask them for a lot of money. The mortuary attendants also ask for their own share…. Tell us the conditions for keeping and collecting a corpse from Shisong Catholic General Hospital.
The system has instructed us not to ask for money. But good people offer us motivations and they do so very well. You know we are in a village, so we don't worry people at all. 

How much does it cost to keep a corpse in Shisong Mortuary? 
It's 5,000 FCFA a day. 

And what else do they pay? In Yaounde they give you a long list of things to pay. 
Nothing else. 

When they come to leave the corpse? 
Yes, nothing else apart from 5,000 FCFA a day. If you have ever been here or you know somebody who has ever been here, the person will confirm the story. 

This sounds like a story from space! 
It sounds very strange to you, but that is the way we operate in Shisong. 

So, on an average day, how many corpses do you handle? 
We handle as many as they come. Because we are in a rural setting, they will not come as many as in Douala and Yaounde. 

So, on an average day, you receive how many new corpses, like how many? 
Some days we may receive two, some days none; some days we may receive four. 

Then what of those being collected by their families for burial? 
We are in a village where people collect corpses averagely every two days. People don’t keep corpses for long in the mortuary in Shisong.  

People don't keep corpses for long? 
No, they don’t keep for long like in other places. 

On average, how long do they keep corpses? 
Even though our price is cheap, still some families cannot afford. 

So, on average, how long do they keep corpses in Shisong? 
As long as they want. 

Like how many days? 
They can keep corpses two weeks. It's not a problem. It depends on the family. In general, they keep corpses in our mortuary only for a few days. And the services we offer are good. 
But I have noticed something. Corpses that are brought into our mortuary from Bamenda, Yaounde…, don't often look good, they don't look nice to us. They don't prepare corpses very well. Their corpses are just very ugly, have ugly shapes. They are often in disorder. We don't like that at all. Here in Shisong, we prepare corpses well. Those who patronize our mortuary can tell you that we are excellent. 

So, the corpses that are brought in from Yaounde, Douala… and are kept temporarily in your mortuary before burial don't look good at all? 
Yes, they don't prepare the bodies well. 

Is it because of overcrowding in the mortuaries in these big cities or what? 
I think the experience is not there.

The experience is not there? 
Yes, the knowledge is not there. They know how to prepare corpses, but they don't know how to finish the job.  

So, what is the difference? What is the difference in what you do and what you see that comes from Yaounde and Douala? 
If you have been to Saint Elizabeth Catholic General Hospital, Shisong Mortuary, you will see how corpses are handled and how they lie. But when they bring in corpses from other mortuaries, they are just twisted in one way or the other, not well prepared. The hands are twisted, the head…, everything, the mouth open…funny things, funny things.

Can you attribute all this to the long journeys that they make on bad roads to get to Shisong?
No, no! The journey has got nothing to do with the preparation of the body.

For all your 26 years of handling corpses, you have handled like how many? 
I cannot say because I don't keep it in my statistics. 

Hundreds?
Of course!

Let’s talk now about the crisis rocking the North West and South West Regions since 2016. How has it affected your work?
Between 2019 and 2020, the crisis affected our hospital so much that some workers were asked to stay at home without salary. I spent 10 months at home.
In terms of the numbers of corpses we handle, the crisis has not made a significant difference. We continue to handle just about the same number of corpses like before the war. 

Don’t you receive people wounded in the war or the corpses in the mortuary?
We only receive civilians who get caught up in fighting or shooting, but never Amba fighters and military people - wounded or dead.

How do people look at you, knowing that you work in the mortuary? Many people know that is the work you do? 
Of course, the whole environment should know me. As they come to keep or collect corpses, they meet me. They know me in the whole of Bui Division. When I go out, they meet me and greet me by name. 

People tend to be afraid of mortuary attendants. Some say they cannot eat with them…How do people in Bui Division treat you? 
Our people don't have any problem with us because they are always with us. They don't pay attention to such funny stories; they never run away from us.

Some say before entering the mortuary where corpses are kept, attendants must knock and wait before going in. Else, they might discover some corpses doing funny things. Is that your experience? 
I cannot talk about that. It's left to those who tell such stories.

You have never experienced such a thing? 
Even if I experienced, this is not the forum to discuss it. It not a problem to talk about here, Sir. 

What do people generally say about your work? Did you ever imagine you would one day handle corpses? 
I receive people from my village. I receive people all the way from Donga-Mantung Division, Ngoketunjia Division… 

They bring corpses to Shisong? 
Yes. And those from other parts of the region and country also keep their bodies with us to prepare before coming back to collect them for burial. 

After handling corpses for all this time, does it mean anything to you when someone dies? When people cry after someone dies, does it mean anything to you? 
Do you know that if my dies, I cry? Yes, I also cry. I am no different from other people, I have the same human feelings.

Though you have become so accustomed to death?
Yes!

Any other thing you would like to tell us about your profession? 
I don't know what to say exactly, but anybody who needs my services can still employ me and I will teach them how to work. 

But for now, you are occupied with the Shisong Hospital?
Yes. 

Did you ever imagine this is the kind of work you will end up doing? 
No. I never thought about it. 

How does your wife treat you? When you started the job, how did your wife react to the news?
My wife had no problem because anybody working in the hospital must deal with corpses, whether they like it or not. Whatever department you work, you will still handle a dead person. When somebody dies and they need assistance, they will call on you wherever you are - whether you are working in the yard, carpentry... If your assistance is needed, they call you and you cannot refuse. How do you refuse when you are working in the hospital to serve people? You are serving Christ through people, isn’t it!

Let's talk about Labour Day on May 1, 2026. How will you celebrate it? 
Please, I don't want to talk about that because we are in a war zone. How do you expect us to celebrate when we are in a war zone?  

Will you be busy on Labour Day? Will you be at work?
It is a public holiday, and also a holiday in the mortuary. 

So you respect public holidays?
The institution must allow us to also rest on Labour Day. 

Thank you so much Mr. Wambo Fabian Yufenyuy for taking time to talk to us.
It was also my pleasure!

Don’t you receive people wounded in the war o...