–President Ali announces; affirms nation will never abandon those affected by tragedy

PRESIDENT, Dr Irfaan Ali has announced the creation of a new national body to coordinate long-term support for survivors and families affected by the MV Barima tragedy, promising that Guyana’s compassion will not fade once the headlines do.
The vessel, carrying passengers and crew from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, capsized after a distress call was received on the night of July 18, triggering one of the largest maritime search-and-rescue operations in Guyana’s history, with support from the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard, local agencies, private vessels, international partners, and specialist diving teams from France, Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago.
In the days that followed, President Ali declared three days of national mourning, with the Golden Arrowhead flown at half-staff on government buildings across the country, alongside a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance at the Kingston Seawall, followed by nights of reflection in Port Kaituma and Mabaruma.
In his address, President Ali said his government’s commitment to the affected families was never meant to be temporary.
“We will do so not for a fleeting moment, not until the headlines fade, but throughout the long, tender journey of healing that stretches far beyond this period of immediate grief,” he said, describing the response not as an act of duty but as an expression of who Guyanese people are as a nation.
That commitment now takes the form of the H.E.A.R.T. Initiative, Hope, Empathy, Aid, Resilience, and Trust, a coordinating body meant to sustain material, moral, and spiritual support for as long as it’s needed.
The initiative will be steered by respected religious and civil society leaders from across the country’s faiths, under the leadership of Carl Stewart, with a mandate to ensure no affected family “slips through” the safety net of support and compassion.
The President also announced that Eamon Harrison Courtenay of Belize, a lawyer and former Foreign Affairs Minister and Attorney General, will help work out the modalities of financial assistance for survivors and victims’ families.
He was careful to stress that this assistance is not compensation, but a gesture of solidarity: “Grief cannot be balanced by any ledger.”
The announcement follows other steps taken in recent days, including the appointment of a five-member international Commission of Inquiry, chaired by Justice Godfrey Phillip Smith of Belize, made up of regional and international experts in law, maritime engineering, and marine safety, tasked with determining the causes of the disaster and recommending reforms to Guyana’s maritime safety framework.
Invoking the national motto, One People, One Nation, One Destiny, President Ali closed with a message of collective resolve: “We are Guyana. We do not abandon our own. We rise from the ashes of sorrow with arms wide open.