Santorini: Woman causes outrage after spreading loved one’s ashes through busy streets of tourist hotspot
Locals are up in arms over the incident described as a ‘health bomb’ by a furious official.
A woman visiting one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations has sparked outrage after appearing to scatter the ashes of a dead loved one through its picturesque streets.
The act, described as a “health bomb” by a furious official who works for the local Chamber of Commerce, was caught on camera and quickly circulated on social media.
In the footage, the woman, who is wearing a black poncho-style top and white pants, can be seen walking through the streets of Oia on the island of Santorini in Greece, holding what looks to be a large plastic bottle filled with ashes.
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As she walks down steps past the iconic white-washed walls and blue doors the island is known for, she gradually sprinkles the bottle’s contents onto the ground outside people’s homes.
The woman, who local media identified as British, is accompanied by a group of other people who follow behind singing the Bob Marley song Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.
One person in the group can be heard saying, “Goodbye dad”. And, as she empties the remains of the bottle to the ground, the group claps.
It has been reported that it was the deceased person’s final wish to have their ashes scattered on the island, however the act has infuriated locals.
A representative of the Santorini Chamber of Commerce said it was “unacceptable”, saying the island’s strong winds could have spread the ashes across public areas, shops and private properties, Greek News Today reported.
“There must be limits,” they said.
“You can’t just throw ash everywhere. It’s constantly windy on our island, so all this went everywhere, on passersby, shops and houses. Some limits must finally be set.”
It is understood that under Greek regulations, scattering cremated remains is subject to conditions and expected to be done in designated memorial locations, remote natural settings or at sea.
People reacting to the video online have labelled the incident “sick”, and a “ridiculous thing to do”.
“It’s a hygiene issue first and logically requires a fine..........so can you scatter dead bodies in a residential area, we’re not okay,” one wrote.
Another added “and, just imagine the poor people walking out of there homes, stepping on that. no thank you”.
