Paper long abstract:

In the poorer areas of Recife, Northeast Brazil, the dead are buried in two tempi. First the corpus is placed in a preliminary tomb and left to decompose for a year. Then bones are removed from the tomb and one of two things happens: either they are put to rest in a family grave or, if the family cannot afford a proper grave, they are put to anonymous rest in a common pile, or as people say, thrown away. Relatives are often present when the bones are removed from the preliminary tomb and hence they are fully aware of facts and the direct link between death and (in)dignity. Based on research among youth in a low-income neighbourhood in Recife, this paper describes life as stretched out been disillusion and a sometimes desperate trust in chance. At stake is not only comfort and happiness, but also the future end of your life and hence the conclusion of your story.