‘Stay home or dance with us’. You must have stumbled across that line on social media platforms or will likely do so in the coming days if you have not, Thecable reports.
When Benjamin Aidoo, leader of Nana Otafrija Pallbearing & Waiting Services, left his job in 2003, he had two dreams to redefine funerals in Ghana and shrink the country’s unemployment space.
“Having attended several funerals in Ghana this idea hit me. We shouldn’t feel sad for the dead but also celebrate them. I quit my job in 2003 to start this and found a few guys to do this,” he was quoted as saying while appearing on NTV’s ‘The Trend’ show.
Years after, however, his pallbearing business has exceeded expectations.
The sudden rise of the COVID-19 grim reaper
Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, not much was heard of Aidoo and his team. They have however, witnessed a sudden jump in popularity with ballooning fanbase since the dawn of the novel disease.
The raging killer virus has significantly changed the global landscape with its attendant effects on the economy of the world, lifestyles of the people among others.
The development has led to the introduction of several measures by governments across all levels including lockdown, prohibition of religious as well as social gatherings to combat spread of the virus.
But the Ghanaian pallbearers have benefited from the situation and are seen by many as the imaginary character of death.
Whether you fail to wash your hands before eating or have someone inadvertently sneeze or cough around you, these guys become the accidental faces of death.
A video clip of the team — consisting of six men — clad in black suits, sunglasses and patent leather shoes carrying a coffin while jamming to the beat of a song has become a sensation on the internet during this pandemic.
On one hand, it has become a social media meme for many people to kill boredom orchestrated by the lockdown. On the other hand, the clip has become a veritable instrument for authorities globally to drive compliance with several directives introduced to combat spread of the virus.
Their short visuals have also become the go-to-clip used to remind defaulters of measures aimed at tackling spread of the virus — overtly or covertly — of the consequence of their action: death.
From Ghana to the world
From a relatively low start in Ghana, photos of Aidoo and his team have emerged with warnings in French and Portuguese: “Stay at home or dance with us.” It has been used on billboards in Brazil. It has also featured prominently in French and Portuguese announcements aimed at encouraging social distancing.
Their video clips also made headlines in Colombia earlier this month after a group of police were seen mimicking the pallbearers while calling on people to comply with the stay-at-home order.
From Ghana to Global Superstars: The Dancing pallbearers from Prampram https://t.co/ulKecwkqP8 pic.twitter.com/Bw9VHJPNoZ
— Ameyaw Debrah (@AmeyawDebrah) April 16, 2020
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