Relatives struggling to move along, five months on
RELATIVES OF those who perished  in the horrific Berbice accident which took the lives of twelve persons on October 29, 2010, are struggling to move on with their lives, even as they await an apology from the driver, Chetram Ramphal, who is currently facing twelve counts of  Causing Death by Dangerous Driving.
The case, which was recalled before Magistrate Adela Nagamootoo in the New Amsterdam Court on Friday, has been adjourned for trial on April 5.
On that fateful day, at Suzanna Village, East Bank Berbice, Ramphal allegedly drove motor lorry GLL8863 in a manner so dangerous to the public that he collided  with  a minibus  resulting in the deaths of  33-year-old Oudit Narine  Babulall, the driver of the ill-fated minibus, of Number 48 Village; Salma Razack, 23, of lot 104 Main Street, Cumberland; Marques Ault 14, of  Rose Hall Town;  Cindy Jaggernauth of Nigg Settlement; two-month-old Josiah Khan and his mother, Talika Mendonca, 21, of  Kildonan Village;  Patricia Asgarally, 28, of Albion;  Salmar Juman, 40, of  East Canje; Nazaradin Mahinudin, 19, of Betsy Ground, East Canje; and Chetram Ramphal, 30, and Janet Baker of Bush Lot, and Number 19 respectively, both Corentyne Villages.
Since the grizzly incident, which has been described as the worst vehicular accident to have occurred in the county, relatives would periodically gather whenever the case is set for hearing at the Magistrates’ Court, where they would find solace in each other’s company.

‘A word of sorry means so much,” one relative said. “Initially, we were in pain; we hated; but now, we can respond differently. We know that money cannot bring our loved ones back, but we have lost husbands, who were bread winners; wives, whose companionship cannot be sought in the arms of another; children, who brought much joy and  laughter in our homes. Nothing can bring them back, but we do not want their memories to die with them’

Zulene Persaud, mother of 14-year-old survivor, Fiona Paramsook, whose injuries were so severe she had to be rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), said her daughter began walking again on February 30, last , and has since returned to school at the Corentyne Comprehensive Secondary School, where she is currently writing her end-of-term test.
According to Zulene, who is grateful to God that her daughter’s life was spared, the doctor had given the child until March 3  to walk unaided, but she surprised them with her fast recovery. The teen is however expected to return to the health institution in September, when the steel implants in her feet and clavicle (collar bone)   are  expected to be removed.
Another survivor, Tamika Mendonza, told the Guyana Chronicle that her right shoulder is still painful, and that she finds it difficult to use her right hand. In addition to those discomfitures is the excruciating pain she feels in her head whenever she happens to be in the sun.
And while her physician has ordered a C-Scan to find out what is causing the pain in both her head and shoulder, she has been unable to raise the required sum to do the test, and as such has to cope with the many challenges she is faced with since the accident.
Meanwhile, group spokesperson, Mr. Abubakar Razac, better known as ‘Bro Abu’, recalled that after the second hearing of the case last month, an agreement was reached between the relatives of the deceased and the errant driver’s family to hold a meeting to discuss the way forward.
He said that having been appointed the group’s representative, it was further agreed that the driver and  his wife meet with him first, prior to getting together with the other affected relatives.
Razac, who lost his only daughter, Salma, said several appointments were made, but none came to fruition until a week-and-a-half ago, when they were finally able to agree to a place, a time, and also the inclusion of two upstanding members of the Upper Corentyne community. Unfortunately, the driver’s relatives never kept their word.
Rather, he subsequently received a telephone call from an alleged attorney-at-law questioning his  persistence in persuading the driver’s wife, who is  the registered owner of the ill-fated truck, to have a meeting with him. Denying the allegation, Razac, a businessman, reiterated: “They had arranged a meeting with the people following the previous court hearing ; I am just representing the relatives of the deceased.”
“Imagine, since the accident, the driver, nor his family, has not extended sympathy to the bereaved relatives; not a message, a card, nor a telephone call,” he added.
Meanwhile, relatives gathered at the courthouse, who substantiated everything their spokesperson said, told the Guyana Chronicle that when the driver appeared in court on the  previous occasion, they had accosted him and asked why he never said sorry, and his response was that he was afraid.
“A word of sorry means so much,” one relative said. “Initially, we were in pain; we hated; but now, we can respond differently. We know that money cannot bring our loved ones back, but we have lost husbands, who were bread winners; wives, whose companionship cannot be sought in the arms of another; children, who brought much joy and  laughter in our homes. Nothing can bring them back, but we do not want their memories to die with them.”
Meanwhile, Waaheda Mahinudin, mother of Nazaradin, one of the deceased and an employee of Nand Persaud International Communications, said since the incident, she has not been enjoying good health, and had had to seek the services of a psychiatrist.
Other relatives claimed they too have been experiencing poor health. For instance, Orlando De Mattos’ mother has been having trouble controlling her blood pressure, while his widow, Marsena, is finding it challenging to raise their three under-aged children.
Many contend that the tragic loss of their loved ones is a nightmare they have to relive daily; Joel Khan, whose two-month-old son, Josiah, perished in the accident, cannot help but question the reason for his first-born’s sudden demise. “I can’t go through a day without asking God why my son, so young, had to die. It’s not an easy feeling to know your first child has been killed in a vehicular accident.”
Like Khan, other relatives have expressed disappointment in the various government officials who had promised to send counselors to assist them during the emotionally draining period but never did. ‘‘No help has been forthcoming; lots of promises were made…we have tried to survive…”
They also say they haven’t heard from the insurance company either. A visit, however, to the New Amsterdam branch of the company at reference, North American Life Insurance Company (NALICO) has revealed that the fault lies with said relatives of the deceased, who are yet to provide the company the relevant documentation such as their birth certificates and that of the deceased, the death certificate, an identification card, and a statement of claim. The source with whom the Guyana Chronicle spoke said that as soon as those documents are received, the process will commence.
Another issue raised by the group of grieving relatives is a media report that the ill-fated minibus was overloaded. This was not so, they say, and are asking the relevant authorities not to take the rumour seriously and to take into account the lives that were lost because of one man’s carelessness.
Among relatives present at Friday’s briefing were Roxanne Khan, Joel Khan, Royston Ault, Harriet Collins, Tyrone Sangster,  Clarice De Mattos, Bibi Sookraj and Rohine Baboolall.