You know tlcox, this raises one complicated issue that we in Australia have suffered great heartache over in our short existence since European colonisation. I need to explain this, so please bear with the apparent off-topic content, as it is entirely in context overall.
Our indigenous Aboriginal people were an absolute fascination to the European settlers of the penal colony known as the Antipodes (Australia). They sent skeletons and sometimes parts of skeletons back to England and European museums and private collections as curios, and for study. Consider the research and theories of Charles Darwin at that time for context! There was also the abhorrent practice of beheading the "savages" in hunts during warfare between the Aborigines and the European settlers (I use the term "savages" to convey to you the sentiment of these settlers, as this is the term they used ... sometimes if an Aboriginal demonstrated an aptitude for culture and etiquette they were called the "noble savage"! It was the British way to dehumanise the indigenous people). So heads were also sent back to Europe while the bodies were buried on Australian land. I am sure you get the idea of where I am going with this.
So in Australia we have a strong sense of land, which I think is a wonderful value that we've learned from our Aboriginal brothers and sisters. The land is 'sacred' or 'special'. Many white Australians are passionate about the specific location for their burial place, as are the Aboriginal people (though for spiritual and ancestral reasons in their case). Often it is a matter of ashes being scattered in secret bush or ocean locations, etc, as this allows freedom outside of a cemetery.
But partial burial is another thing. If Zahra's remains are returned to Australia for burial/scattering then this is only part of her body. This would mean part is in the USA in unknown locations and part is in Australia. That is something that upset the Aboriginal people for centuries, and we as a nation agreed that the parts of bodies should be together.
Just a spanner in the works I realise. I hope she is returned to Australia, which I consider to be Zahra's home. But I simultaneously wonder about the division of her remains. It is an uncomfortable issue given the circumstances.
