Survivors of the capsized MV Barima vessel are thankful for a second chance at life, though many of them are devastated over missing relatives who are yet to be located followed the Saturday night tragedy. One such person is Nathaniel Matabheek, who recalls the moment the ferry vessel started to tilt to the side, going underwater and capsizing in less than a minute, resulting in his family going missing.
The Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice (WCB), man was at the time travelling with his wife, Rachel Welch, and their three children – eight-year-old Nathaniel Jr, five-year-old Nathalia and three-year-old Ezekiel. Nathaniel’s brother, Adam Matabheek, and his wife, Carlita also called “Rebecca”, were also on the vessel. They were on their way to Smith Creek in the North-West District, Region One (Barima-Waini), to visit Welch’s ailing mother when tragedy struck. An emotional Nathaniel recounted that the boat sank so fast that no one could have done anything. He could not even save his wife and children and they are still missing. “The boat cant over and me get cover up underneath… Me deh fight up fuh get out [under the water] and me nah know how me find one spot fuh come out. And when me come out, me search, search and watch, me nah see them [his wife and kids] back. Me nah know if the boat suck down them or the boat cover them or what. Me na know,” the grieving man recalled. Nathaniel, along with his brother and sister-in-law, managed to survive the ordeal. Though he thought about giving up after being unable to find his family, Nathaniel’s older brother and sister-in-law held onto him and the three managed to stay afloat until help arrived. After being rescued, they were taken to the Charity Hospital on the Essequibo Coast, where they received medical attention and were subsequently relocated to the Essequibo Technical Institute (ETI), where a makeshift shelter was set up for survivors and family members, as they eagerly await news of the missing woman and three children.
“Bye-bye grandma. bye-bye grandpa”
Meanwhile, back at Bush Lot, the children’s grandmother, Bebi Matabheek, could only wait and pray. Speaking through tears, she recounted that although she understood why the trip had become necessary, she never wanted her family to make the journey by boat. Long before they left home on Saturday evening, Bebi pleaded with her sons and their spouses to reconsider. “I was telling them not to go… I was telling them to leave the grandchildren, but after the other grandmother said she wanted to see them, that is why they had to go,” the woman related.
She explained that the children were not accustomed to travelling by boat and even Rachel herself had not returned to the North-West District since getting married about nine years ago. According to Bebi, she learnt the news of the incident from a neighbour on Sunday morning. Since then, relatives began telephoning everyone they thought might know something, hoping someone – anyone, could give them some information. Hours later, they learnt that Nathaniel, his brother and sister-in-law survived. But with no word still about Rachel and her three children, relatives are clinging to hope. The grandmother said she refuses to believe that all hope is lost. “I hope them to come back safely. I love them. I love my grandchildren. I don’t want anything to happen to them.” She said that children were a constant presence in her life. They often spent nights with her and her husband. Bebi said she keeps replaying the family’s departure in her mind, wondering if there was anything more she could have said to persuade them not to make the trip. She recalled the children saying goodbye to her before leaving home. “Yesterday, when they were leaving, they came and gave me a kiss… [One of the grandsons] said, ‘Bye-bye Grandma. Bye-bye Grandpa’,” the woman recalled.
Mother of two missing children
Meanwhile, Eve Jerome is in the same position, anxiously awaiting word on loved ones still unaccounted for following the capsizing of the MV Barima on Saturday night. For Jerome, the wait is for her two children, three-year-old Alliya Gonsalves and 12-year-old Jerome Jacobs. The mother survived the incident but was separated from both children during the chaos that followed the vessel’s capsizing.
Jerome, who was later taken to the Essequibo Technical Institute in Region Two, said the family had been travelling to Region One to reunite with relatives. She explained that her husband is visually impaired and that the family depends heavily on public assistance. The tragedy also resulted in the loss of her personal belongings, including important documents and records related to the assistance she receives. While recounting the ordeal, Jerome said passengers had begun expressing concern at around 21:00h after rough water was noticed entering the vessel. She claimed that concerns raised by passengers were met with assurances that the situation was under control. However, the situation deteriorated and fear spread among those on board resulting in life jackets being eventually distributed.
Jerome said she had never used a life jacket before and initially struggled to put it on properly. Nevertheless, she believes it played a vital role in helping her survive after the vessel overturned. Now, as search and rescue teams continue working to locate remaining passengers and crew members still missing, Jerome is left wanting for news about her children. “My children were everything to me. I keep praying and hoping that they can be found,” the distraught mother stated. Her story is one of several emerging from the MV Barima tragedy, as families across Guyana continue to wait anxiously for answers about their loved ones.
“We hollering but nobody can’t hear”
MV Barima departed Port Georgetown on Saturday afternoon with 116 passengers and 17 crew members, heading to Port Kaituma in Region One. However, just before midnight a distress call was received from the ferry, which eventually capsized due to the rough Atlantic waters, according to authorities.
Up to press time, 67 persons, 41 males, 11 females and 15 children (6 boys and 9 girls) – had been rescued. Among those rescued was Orman Cox. But for him, it was struggle to survive. He recalled being stranded in the waters for more than six hours, battling harsh waves, fatigue and cramps to stay alive. The Wauna, Region One, resident said he was travelling with three other persons when they boat made a sudden tilt, sending them sliding across before capsizing. “The bottom left up top and we went down in the water,” he recounted. Cox related that he was struggling to swim up to the surface and had to remove his boots to free himself. “I went deep down in the water. I had to drink water cause I can’t able to stop me breath no more. But I still end up reach up.” The man said he gathered up some plastic bottles that were floating around the wreckage and used his pants belt to tie them together making a make-shift float.
“The swelling just coming all the time and ducking yuh head so you had to try keep your head out de water… Like five of we ended up holding onto together,” he recalled. According to the man, they were in the water for hours before the rescue team eventually get to their location. During that time, he said they could have seen the Coast Guards but the rough waters made it difficult to do anything. “How the swelling went, sometime you could see, sometimes you can’t see. We hollering but nobody can’t hear. We were hearing other [people from the vessel] hollering [from different directions in the water]… I done was getting cramps… As soon as you loose off [the make-shift float], the water done pushing you away. So, you gah hold on and we deh holding on,” the man related. After being rescued and receiving medical treatment on the Essequibo Coast, Cox was among a group of Region One residents who were flowing down to Mabaruma, where they reunited with anxious family members and relatives.
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