Death, they say is inevitable, right? So, what happens when youre not allowed or permitted to die in certain places, what becomes inevitable at that point? Death or location?
Apparently, some locations in the world care less about the inevitability of death, as dying is prohibited and forbidden. In other words, a person's crime would be to die (as against death being the punishment for crime). Simply put, it's illegal to die in these places.
Here are 6 places in the world where it is illegal to die.
1. Selia, Italy
This Italian town has a population of just over 500 people, majority of which are over 65 years of age. In the 60s, the population was triple that amount so the mayor, worried about the town dying out, decreed that all people are 'forbidden to get ill within the municipality' and that 'dying is prohibited'. This was probably in a bid to promote personal hygiene and regular health checks as offenders are fined €10 annually.
2. Biritiba-Mirim, Brazil
Faced with a shortage of space in the local cemetery in 2005 and its inability to expand or build new cemeteries due to the high water tables law or special preservation designations that were made in 2003 (being a major source of Sao Paulo’s fruits and veggies), the mayor of this Brazilian town banned death in the town.
Although, a new cemetery has been built in 2010 to accommodate more corpses, who knows how long it will be till the cemetery gets filled up once again.
3. Cugnaux, France
Frustrated by a disapproval to build a new cemetery on a vacant airfield in 2007 due to unavailability of burial space, the mayor Philippe Guérin, passed a law that banned death.
4. Itsukushima, Japan
Considered holy according to Shintoism and followers, the purity of Itsukushima island is maintained by making sure that nobody dies on the island.
The restriction which has been in place since 1878, bars people from giving birth or from dying on the island.
5. Longyearbyen, Norway
Due to permafrost in the frozen town of Longyearbyen in the Svalbard Islands of Norway, dead bodies never decompose and were completely well preserved.Hence, the need to forbid dying in the town.
6. Sarpourenx, France
After a French court denied permission to expand the existing graveyard, Sarpourenx imposed a sanction on death in the town.