President Irfaan Ali yesterday announced the creation of a national support body, dubbed the HEART Initiative, to coordinate long-term assistance for survivors and bereaved families from the MV Barima tragedy, while also appointing a former Belizean attorney general to develop the framework for financial assistance to those impacted.
The President said the HEART Initiative, which stands for Hope, Empathy, Aid, Resilience and Trust, will provide sustained material, moral and spiritual support to those affected by the disaster.
“To ensure that this support, material, moral, and spiritual is sustained, I am establishing a national body to coordinate, mobilise, and foster this necessary work of healing,” Ali announced.
The initiative will be overseen by religious and civil society representatives from across Guyana and will be led by Carl Stewart. According to the President, the body will unite faith-based and community organisations to provide ongoing care and ensure that affected families receive practical assistance and emotional support. “They will offer the practical hands of service and provide a safety net of support and compassion that no family affected by this tragedy will slip through.”
Ali disclosed that he has asked Harrison Courtenay, a former Attorney General, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Belize, to assist in developing the modalities for financial assistance to survivors and the families of victims.
He said Courtenay’s legal and governmental experience would help direct the process but noted that the planned financial assistance should not be interpreted as compensation.
“I wish to make it clear, this assistance does not constitute compensation for survivors and bereaved families,” the President said, adding that the measures are intended to ensure “every survivor will be supported and every bereaved family will be treated with dignity.”
Last Sunday, Ali announced the establishment of a five-member independent international Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the MV Barima tragedy, saying the body will be empowered to determine whether negligence, misconduct or institutional failures contributed to the disaster.
Ali said the inquiry’s findings will be made public and its recommendations implemented to help prevent a similar tragedy.
On the night of July 18, the MV Barima capsized off the coast near the mouth of the Pomeroon River while en route from Georgetown to Port Kaituma. The vessel issued a distress call shortly after 11 p.m., prompting a massive search-and-rescue operation involving the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Coast Guard, private vessels and regional partners.
As of today, 76 people have been rescued, while the death toll has climbed to 73, with dozens of victims identified and returned to their families. At least 30 persons are still unaccounted for, and the government has promised to continue searching.
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