By Andrew Carmichael
Nearly two weeks after the MV Barima tragedy, relatives of three Berbicians who remain unaccounted for are holding on to hope, pleading for the vessel to be salvaged and searched so that they and other families can finally get answers.
Raymond Sumra of Islington, Greater New Amsterdam; Rawle Frank of Number 42 Village, West Coast Berbice; and 22-year-old 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 agonising wait.
At Sumra’s Islington, Greater New Amsterdam home, his uncle, Puran Grant, recalled his nephew talking about coming home and taking care of his mother. His goal was to purchase a vehicle so he could take her wherever she needed to go. In addition, he wanted to complete the family’s home so they could live together.
Two weeks after the deadly MV Barima incident, Raymond has not returned. His mother, Rebecca Beatrice Sumra, still believes her son may be alive somewhere, waiting to be found.
Grant described his nephew as the favourite of them all, and recalled the close relationship they shared over the years. “I used to live here; we sleep together until I get a job and I go away working,” he recalled.
Their bond continued even after Grant left for work, and he remembered the mischief they sometimes got into together. “We do a lot of things together, go into problems and come out back. Mother doesn’t even know about it,” he said.
The two remained in regular contact, and on July 18, 2026, when Raymond left, Grant received what would become their final telephone call.
He received a telephone call from Raymond at about 13:00h that afternoon. “Uncle Malik, I’m going out,” Grant vividly remembered his nephew telling him.
But Raymond was also thinking about what he would do when he returned.
According to Grant, his nephew spoke about plans to take better care of his mother, who has difficulties with mobility, hearing and eyesight.
Raymond wanted to get a vehicle so that his mother could be taken wherever she needed to go. He also spoke about completing work on the family home and living together with her.
Grant did not know then that it would be the last conversation he would have with his nephew before he disappeared in thin air.
Despite the passing days, he still believes Raymond could be somewhere waiting to be found. “To be honest, as I’m sitting here, I still believe he is somewhere,” Grant said.
Mother warned him not to go
Raymond’s mother is holding on to the same hope. During an emotional interview with Guyana Times, the hopeful mother indicated that she has a feeling that her son may still be alive somewhere and is waiting to be found.
Her hope persists even as the days pass without word of him. Rebecca also recalled that before Raymond left, she had urged him not to make the trip after he had reported to her that the vessel had encountered a mechanical issue prior to its last voyage.
That conversation now weighs heavily on the mother as she waits for the son. Raymond’s relatives have also endured the emotional blow of mistakenly believing that he had already been found.
The uncle stated that at one time the family received information that a body believed to be Raymond’s was recovered.
“I don’t know who called us and said that they had found him. Even I was telling my family that we found him,” he recalled. The relief did not last.
Grant said a relative who examined the body believed to be Raymond noticed that the person had a tattoo. Raymond, he said, does not have one. The family was left waiting once again. “I’m not giving up any hope.”
Refusing to surrender to reality
At Number 42 Village, West Coast Berbice, Esther Frank is also refusing to surrender hope that her son Rawle is alive. “Well, that’s how I feel; that he’s still alive. But I’m not giving up all hope,” she said.
The wait, however, has been difficult. “It’s hard. It’s hard. It’s hard because many times, I have to sit down and remember a lot of things.” Esther said.
She described moments when memories of her son become overwhelming, and she sits and cries before gathering herself and carrying on. “Because many times, I have to sit down and remember a lot of things. Cry and ease and go again. But, just to be strong,” she related.
Even the ringing of a telephone can stir hope. Esther admitted that many times when the phone rings, she hopes the news is about Rawle. But as the days pass, she continues to pray and tries to remain strong.
Her hopes are also pinned on efforts to salvage the MV Barima. Esther was among relatives who recently met with President Dr Irfaan Ali, and she said she was encouraged by what she heard about efforts to bring up the vessel.
“I pray that things work out with what he said,” she related. Esther wants those involved in the operation to seek whatever assistance is necessary to recover the vessel.
“Try the best. Anything and get help or assistance; bring up that boat. It will make everybody be satisfied,” she pleaded. And if Rawle is not found inside, she is still praying that one day he will return.
Whether dead or alive
Meanwhile, in Leitchfield Village, West Coast Berbice, Brenda Harcourt is facing the uncertainty surrounding her grandson Antoine differently.
Brenda, 81, said she and “Tony”, as the family affectionately calls him, shared a good relationship. Whenever he was around, she recalled, he would pass through her yard.
Sometimes he would stop and call out to her: “Granny, what are you doing?”
“We had a good relationship,” she said.
But after two weeks without word that her grandson has been found, Brenda said she does not believe he is still alive. “Well, I don’t think so. As far as I understand, I don’t think he’s alive,” she said.
Her hope now is not necessarily for a rescue, but for an end to the uncertainty. “Whether dead or alive… I would like to see him. If they would bring the body home for burial, you know, it will give us closure.”
She wants the MV Barima searched to determine whether Antoine or other missing persons remain inside. “I would prefer to check to see if bodies are still in the boat,” she said.
Salvaging the vessel
The possibility of raising the vessel has become particularly important to the families as they search for answers.
For the Grant family, they are holding onto the assurance of President Ali, who related that efforts are being undertaken to salvage the MV Barima.
According to Grant’s account of the meeting, the President indicated that the process could take between eight and 10 weeks.
“What he had told me [is] that he’s going to salvage the ship and bring it up. He [will] try his best to bring it up,” Grant said.
He said the assurance brought relief after relatives had heard discussions about the possibility that the vessel could remain underwater because of difficulties recovering it. The worried uncle does not support leaving it there without first trying to determine whether the missing bodies are inside.
“No, I don’t think that that is right to just leave the ship like that,” he said.
For the three Berbice families, salvaging the vessel could provide answers. But for Esther and Rebecca, hope extends beyond what might be found inside the MV Barima.
They still believe their sons could be somewhere else, alive and waiting to be found. Brenda has begun preparing herself for a different outcome, but she too wants the waiting to end.
“Whether he is alive or whether he is dead, I would prefer to know that he is found,” she said. To date, with 179 passengers and crew members on board, 73 have been rescued while over 70 bodies have been recovered and some 30 are still missing.
Of those bodies recovered, almost all have been laid to rest, but five remain unidentified.
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