Thread: Unburied bodies tell the tale of Detroit — a city in despa

From The Times
November 21, 2009

Unburied bodies tell the tale of Detroit — a city in despair

Tim Reid in Detroit

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The abandoned corpses, in white body bags with number tags tied to each toe, lie one above the other on steel racks inside a giant freezer in Detroit’s central mortuary, like discarded shoes in the back of a wardrobe.

Some have lain here for years, but in recent months the number of unclaimed bodies has reached a record high. For in this city that once symbolised the American Dream many cannot even afford to bury their dead.

“I have not seen this many unclaimed bodies in 13 years on the job,â€

Mismanagement is an understatement. Corruption, and a desire for money and power were the worst of it, and the racism down in the city is still terrible. When I went to a couple job-fairs, I heard it myself in person. And there's no reason to do anything about it, because nobody in an official capacity cares, and as long as it's against whites, it's considered ok. All they care about is how they swindle the city's funds and line their pockets, like the former mayor Kilpatrick, and every other city official has for god knows how long.