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by gus_massa 2370 days ago
Here the funerals are quick. If someone dies, there is a small party [1] for 50-100 people the same day or the next one. People don't stay to much, so you would have like 30 at a time at most. The next day, the body is carried in a black car to the cemetery. The family and friends go in other cars in a small line.

So there is no much time for a fundraiser. Also the health insurance or the work union may cover part of the cost.

The cost is about US$300, so the £20 per donation is at least a 10% of the total, so it's too high for us. (The cost vary if you want a nice wood coffin, how many flower, how many people expect to go, ...)

Don't worry too much about the photo. I'm not offended or something. It is just slightly odd.

[1] I'm not sure about the correct word here, "funeral"?

1 comments

It’s great Argentina has some kind of safety net for families this is really not the case in the U.K.

The average cost of a funeral is nearly $5k and rising and social pressure means the poorer a family is, the more likely they are to spend big.

There is a financial support scheme from the U.K.goverment but this can only be accessed after you’ve already paid for the event. Sadly this leaves many with loan sharks as their only option and ‘funeral debt’ averages nearly $2k per family in Britain.

Because death is a taboo no one really talks about this issue. We’re really hoping to change that as technology can make a big difference in this area.

The speed of Argentina's funerals organization has a lot in common with Jewish and Muslim funerals, who also have funerals within days of a death. We encourage people to fundraise before or after the event. Especially as there can be a lot to organise in such a short space of time.

> Because death is a taboo no one really talks about this issue.

I think that is the biggest problem. Asking for money is another kind of taboo, and you are mixing both. For example, it would be wise to raise money for the funeral of a terminally ill patient, but it's creepy.

Do you have some kind of funeral insurance there? Anecdote time:

The sister of my grandma has a funeral insurance, but she didn't tell anyone clearly. She only said "Don't worry because when I die, everything will be arranged."

The family found the insurance a few month after she died, so it was not used. Anyway, she luckily lived too long, so I'm not sure if it was still valid.