A Ghanaian who died in Italy 7 months ago has finally been laid to rest. The death of Emelia Oboshie, aged 45, has again raised questions against Italian health authourities on certain mysterious deaths about African immigrants in the country. Says a Ghanaian at the funeral: It’s not the first time we have seen this in Italy, some of these deaths need to be thoroughly investigated”, and he added, “but if you have Italians themselves involved in these cases then there are more questions.”

Emelia was said to be living in the Italian northern city Parma at a suburb called ‘Borgotaro. On October 9 last year, a friend who visited her saw that she was not in good health and called in an ambulance from where she was taken to the hospital in the locality. According to sources, diagnosis showed hypertension and was on the same day taken to the main hospital in Parma - ‘Ospedale Maggiore’ - where she was finally admitted at the neurological ward. Information gathered indicated her son, who lives in Parma, visited her on the evening of admission and asked to stay by the mother for the night but was refused. It came as a shock when information came in the next day Emelia passed away on the night she was admitted. Friends who went to the hospital to ascertain what has happened got explanation from the medical staffs that she jumped through the window around midnight from her bed on the 4th floor of the block she was on admission. But her compatriots in the city are not buying into the explanation of the hospital staffs. They believe something happened on the night of admission which caused the death of Emelia. Some of her friends say doctors mistakenly or over reacted in administering medication when they heard she was behaving abnormal whilst being taken to hospital, others believed, at first, a body part has been taken and that the explanation of jumping through a window was to mop up the doctors act. But friends who saw her body later at the hospital said there were no visible signs to think a body part was removed, however, despite the fall at that height they mentioned there were no serious injuries on her body except a minor cut on her leg. It was further explained by the medical staffs Emelia did not die instantly after her fall and was taken up to the intensive ward to be resuscitated but gave up after 2 hours.

It was also noted despite the hospital having a police office within its perimeter the accident was not immediately known by the police and was not reported by the local newspaper till after a week.

All these are fueling beliefs within the community of Ghanaians in Parma that medical staffs were responsible for the death of Emelia – a situation which has not been proved. Another Ghanaian at the funeral was doubtful Emelia jumped through the window of the floor where she was admitted. “In the month of October when it was supposedly cold, was the window opened and why the medical staffs did not strap her to the bed if she was behaving abnormal,” she asked. The answers to these questions and as to whether Emelia has been buried with what led to her death will not be known till the case, which is still in court, is finalised. - Reggie Tagoe