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.