Human rights and gender-rights activist Danuta Radzik is questioning why the MV Barima remains on the seabed when the government has identified salvage as an option, saying the continued delay is raising unanswered questions for families of those killed in the tragedy.
“There are options to bring up the MV Barima. So why the delay? That’s a question everybody wants to know,” Radzik told Kiskadee Watch yesterday at a protest outside the office of Minister Juan Edghill in Kingston.
She questioned whether there was something preventing the vessel from being recovered, while stressing that she was not accusing anyone of concealing information. “We don’t want to assume anything. We want them to tell us,” Radzik said.
The MV Barima sank on July 18 and is located in approximately 13 to 15 metres of water. The government began the process of securing a specialised salvage contractor in August, with companies required to demonstrate that they could recover the vessel while preserving evidence that could assist the Commission of Inquiry.
President Irfaan Ali subsequently said approximately 10 companies had submitted Expressions of Interest and that shortlisted companies would be invited to submit prices for the salvage operation. However, Radzik said there has been insufficient public information about the current status of the process. “We hear that there are three organisations who have tendered to float the boat, but we don’t know which one has been chosen,” she said.
Radzik and other supporters continue to press the government for answers about the disaster and the Commission of Inquiry established to investigate it. She said eight organisations have come together around a petition concerning the tragedy, with 178 people now having signed on. It was delivered to the Office of the President and included support from Guyana, the Caribbean and internationally.
Radzik said the group has also written to the chairman of the Commission of Inquiry, Belizean Justice Godfrey Phillip Smith, seeking a meeting to discuss concerns about the inquiry. The email was sent more than two weeks ago and a copy of the letter was subsequently delivered to Smith in Belize, but there has been no response.
The five-member Commission of Inquiry was established under the Commissions of Inquiry Act to conduct a “thorough, independent, impartial and comprehensive” public inquiry into the capsizing and sinking, the loss of life and the response to the disaster.
Its terms of reference include establishing the sequence of events, determining the immediate and contributing causes, identifying shortcomings or failures, assessing compliance with legal and safety requirements and recommending accountability and reforms where warranted.
The Commission is chaired by Smith, with Dr Andrzej Jasionowski of Poland, Captain Hamada Fouda of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago attorney Nyree Dawn Alfonso and retired Rear Admiral Hayden Pritchard of Trinidad and Tobago serving as commissioners.
Radzik criticised the lack of consultation with families and communities in Region One, which was heavily affected by the disaster. “They did not consult with the families. They did not consult with communities in Region One,” she said. “This is a national tragedy and what we need is a national response with everybody having the opportunity to ensure that their concerns, what is important to them, what they would like to see the Commission of Inquiry do and how to do it, should have been part of this,” Radzik said.
The government, however, has described the Commission as an independent international body with a broad mandate. President Ali has said all administrative, technical, financial and logistical resources required for the inquiry will be made available.
Radzik said families also remain unclear about how they will participate in the inquiry, including where and under what conditions they will give evidence. “The families have said repeatedly they have received no information on this, how they will give evidence, where they will give evidence, and under what condition they will give evidence,” she said.
Radzik also questioned how the inquiry can proceed without the MV Barima being recovered, pointing to the potential evidentiary value of the vessel. “There is so much evidence, there would be so much evidence there that is essential for a proper Commission of Inquiry,” she said.
The Commission has meanwhile invited members of the public, government and non-governmental organisations, private and public entities and the international community with relevant information to contact its secretariat and provide evidence.
Radzik said another unresolved issue is the status of the three crew members in relation to possible charges arising from the tragedy.
The government has reported that 76 people were rescued and 73 people died, with 30 others listed as unaccounted for in the Commission’s preparatory period.
While the Commission prepares for its public hearings and the government continues its salvage process, Radzik said families and their supporters remain focused on obtaining answers about what happened, why it happened and what evidence will ultimately be available to investigators.
Discussion