By Vanessa Cort
IT is with deep sorrow and not a little reluctance that I write about the greatest tragedy to have befallen our nation in recent history. I did not know if I could find the words.
Reportedly, an estimated 179 passengers were on board the MV Barima when it sank two weeks ago on July 18. The number cannot be precise as not all of those travelling was recorded on the boat’s manifest.
So far there have been 76 survivors, at least 73 confirmed deaths and around 30 people unaccounted for. Entire families have been decimated, leaving hundreds behind to mourn for the ones who have perished. Their grief is shared by all Guyanese. I am a mother of 9 children, who lost one of my four sons three years ago in a car crash. I was devastated, as were the remaining siblings and several close friends. Relatives, neighbours and all who knew him were affected.
So, I can understand the impact of sudden death but cannot fathom the awful grief being experienced by those survivors, many of whom have lost spouses, children and even grandchildren on that fateful night. It has been heartrending to hear those rescued re-creating how they were forced to fight the tide, clinging to flotsam in the water, some having awoken to find themselves submerged. All looking around them for other survivors.
For those who could not swim, drowning would have been certain unless they were fortunate enough to grab something in the water to keep them afloat or be helped by another passenger.
Such was the case for one woman, who recounted how, on spotting her and her two children floundering in the water, a man gave her the object he was holding onto. He subsequently drowned after this act of incredible bravery and compassion and so did one of her children.
There are many more stories told by survivors, each of them giving similar accounts of their harrowing experience in the water, some being torn away from family members by the powerful current.
Two of my own extended family perished in this disaster and though they were distant cousins whom I did not know, I still feel the pang of their loss. And this made me think of those who were not on the boat, but are nonetheless suffering the loss of spouses, family and friends, who were passengers. Their numbers cannot be quantified, but they too are survivors left behind to mourn the deaths of people near and dear to them.
Many bade ‘bon voyage’ to the travellers not knowing they would never be seeing them again. Never for a moment thinking they would be receiving the awful news that those fond farewells were their last. Others are left awaiting news of those who are still missing. We often hear people who, for one reason or another, have not been able to recover the body of loved ones, complain about the lack of closure.
They feel as if they have been ‘left hanging’. Some continue to cling to the hope that the person is still alive somewhere, while others may accept the inevitable yet be unable to mourn the passing of someone whose body they have not seen.
Every survivor of a tragedy of a loved one is subject to grief. Some also experience survivor’s guilt and all face the challenge of rebuilding their lives. While each person may grieve differently, there can be no denying the deep and lasting effect that a disaster of this nature will have on everyone concerned and indeed on the country as a whole.
Psychologists talk of the complex nature of the grief felt by survivors. This involves not just the processing of their emotional distress, but overcoming the trauma, which may be so severe that it leads to PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).
There is therefore dire need for the intervention of trained professionals to help survivors cope with their grief, especially those who lived through the experience.
However, Guyanese Clinical Psychotherapist, Shane Tull, during a recently televised interview, expressed his concern that Guyana has neither the trained personnel nor systems in place to deal with survivors of a tragedy of this magnitude.
The Psychotherapist made similar observations after the Mahdia dormitory fire, three years ago, which claimed the lives of 19 students and injured several others. He spoke then of the need for adequate facilities to enable private individual and group sessions with survivors, in an environment where they would be free to discuss the gamut of emotions they undoubtedly feel, with trained professionals. Now, in the face of this enormous tragedy, Tull’s criticisms, concerns and advice should not be ignored by the authorities, whose duty it is to see that survivors receive the psychological treatment they so urgently require in surroundings conducive to healing.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.
