An open letter to our leaders: We must go back to the end of the 18th century to understand the origin of this word, a time when dying at thirty was considered a long life and epidemics emptied villages faster than graves could be dug. In those days, ‘croquer’ (to bite) did not mean to eat; it meant to make disappear, to steal away, like snatching a body from life without a sound.
The most fascinating part of this history is not the profession itself, but the recognition owed to them. The undertaker was present during every epidemic and every funeral, essential whenever death overflowed the cemeteries. Yet, they were never offered a seat at the family table or a place at the village counter, always met with the polite contempt reserved for those who remind us that we are all perishable.
There is a Malagasy proverb that says it all: ‘Ny hanongotsongona ny maty, tahotry ny handevim-belona’ (Biting the toe of the dead is out of fear of burying the living). It is a final act of verification before the irreversible, the only moment when this despised profession becomes, for a second, an act of mercy.
So, dear leaders, if we bite your big toe today, it is not to hurt you or make you falter. It is to verify that you are still alive: that you can still hear the people whispering before they start to scream, that you can still feel the anger before it explodes, and that you still have empathy before it turns into disdain. It is to prevent you from being buried alive.
As an observer of this society, wishing the best for my country, biting your toe is not easy. Those who flatter and applaud no matter what will call it betrayal. But it is not. It is waking you up while there is still time, before the finality of history arrives. A column, an article, a voice speaking what everyone thinks quietly—it is just a toe being bitten to check the pulse. The day the press and citizens no longer dare to do so will not be a sign of social peace; it will be the silence that precedes the burial.
Captured & Published at: 2026-08-05 06:24:10 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/08/croque-mort.html