Sometimes, there are stories that you wish were fake or exaggerated because of how distasteful they are.
The story that a supermarket in Brazil continued greeting customer for 4 hours with one of its employees lying dead on the floor is one of those stories.
On August 14th, Manoel Moisés Cavalcante was working his shift in one of the Carrefour stores in Brazil. Before his shift was over, he suffered a heart attack. Despite the best efforts from those around him, he unfortunately passed away.
In this case, everyone would agree that the right thing to do is to ask the customers to leave and close the store so that his body can be taken to the morgue with all the respect it deserves. Instead, his coworkers decided to cover his body with umbrellas and boxes.
As you can see from the image above, the concealing was done in a way that hid the severity of the situation. According to various reports, shoppers continued to tend to their business for at least 4 more hours, oblivious to the fact that there was a dead man lying in the store.
The shocking picture was circulated on social media, where users expressed disgust and anger at how Cavalcante’s employers and coworkers handled the situation. One user drew a picture that had a price tag on the umbrella and the feet of the dead body, satirizing the situation.
Others reacted much more cynically, saying that this is the reality of capitalism and Brazil in 2020. Jair Bolsonaro, the Brazilian President, has famously advocated for a pro-market, pro-business stance.
After the controversy showed no signs of subsiding, Carrefour released an official statement that apologized for the way in which the situation was handled. It said it did kept to all the protocols including applying first aid and not moving the body.
It also announced that the company has revised guidelines to instruct a mandatory closing of the store in rare circumstances like this one, while extending their condolences to the family.
In an interview with the local media, the employee’s wife expressed her utmost anger at the situation. She lamented how human lives apparently don’t really matter and are second fiddle to business.
Share with us your thoughts in the way the death was handled, and join us in sending our condolences to Mr. Moses’ family.
Replaced!