Families of 3 missing MV Barima passengers want vessel salvaged, encouraged by Pres. Ali’s commitment

Nearly two weeks after the MV Barima tragedy, relatives of three Berbicians who remain unaccounted for are urging authorities to salvage the vessel, saying it is their only hope of finding answers and achieving closure.

Raymond Sumra of Islington, Greater New Amsterdam; Rawle Frank of Number 42 Village, West Coast Berbice; and Antoine “Tony” Harcourt, originally of Leitchfield Village, West Coast Berbice, have not been found.

For their families, the days since the tragedy have brought an agonizing wait. The families met with President Dr Irfaan Ali on Wednesday and were encouraged by his commitments.

Puran Grant, Raymond’s uncle, said they left the meeting encouraged by what they were told about plans for the vessel. According to Grant, the President told relatives that efforts would be made to salvage the MV Barima, a process which, based on Grant’s account of the meeting, could take between eight and ten weeks.

“What he had told me [is] he [will] try his best to bring it up,” Grant said.

For Esther Frank, the mother of Rawle Frank, the President’s assurance that efforts would be made to bring up the vessel has given her something to hold on to. She said she is praying that those efforts succeed.

“I pray that things work out with what he said,” Esther related.  She wants every effort made to recover the MV Barima, believing this could bring some measure of certainty to families still waiting for their relatives.

“Try the best. Anything and get help, assistance, bring up that boat. It will make everybody be satisfied,” she pleaded.

At Islington, Greater New Amsterdam, Raymond Sumra’s mother, Rebecca Beatrice Sumra, is also anxiously awaiting answers.

At Leitchfield Village, 81-year-old Brenda Elizabeth Harcourt has already accepted the harsh reality that her grandson, Antoine “Tony” Harcourt, is no longer alive. What she wants, however, is for his body to be found.

Brenda recalled having a close relationship with her grandson, who would pass through her yard whenever he was around. Sometimes, she remembered, he would stop and call out: “Granny, what are you doing?”

“We had a good relationship,” she said.

But after days of waiting without news that Antoine has been found, Brenda said she does not believe he survived.

“Well, I don’t think so. As far as I understand, I don’t think he’s alive,” she said.

Still, she wants her grandson returned to his family, whatever the outcome.

“Whether dead or alive… I would like to see him. If they would bring the body home for burial, you know,” the grandmother said.

She also wants the MV Barima searched rather than left underwater without determining whether bodies remain inside. “I would prefer to check to see if bodies are still in the boat,” Brenda said.