Nasiya Siara Somra had one assignment and one examination left to complete her degree when her father was lost in the MV Barima tragedy. This month, she hopes to carry his photograph across the University of Guyana’s graduation stage.
Her father, Raymond Somra, was a seaman aboard the vessel when it capsized on July 18 while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma. His body has not been recovered.
For Nasiya, who will receive a Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship, completing her four-year programme meant finding a way through grief at a time when the finish was within reach.
“It would be a very bittersweet moment, sweet that I’m graduating, but bitter that he’s not there,” she said in a feature issued by UG.
A student at the university’s Berbice Campus, Nasiya was completing her studies at the School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation when her grandmother told her about the sinking. At first, she could not accept that her father might have been aboard.
“I was in denial. I could not believe what had happened,” she recalled.
Her studies temporarily took a back seat as the family waited for information about her father and whether he had survived.
“It was overwhelming and heartbreaking at the time because, like, you mean I was not going to be able to see him again?” she said.
Although they did not live together, her father visited and called regularly. She last saw him in June, a month before the disaster.
Their final conversation was about her plans. He wanted to know whether she had obtained her driver’s licence and whether she had switched to studying law.
Law had been Nasiya’s original ambition. Without CAPE qualifications, however, she could not enter the programme directly. She enrolled in entrepreneurship intending to complete a year and then transfer, provided her grades allowed it. Instead, she developed an interest in the subject and stayed.
“He asked me if I got my driver’s licence, and if I was now studying law. I told him no, I was still doing entrepreneurship. That was the last conversation we had,” she recalled.
According to the university, Nasiya has since enrolled in a Master of Laws programme in International Business and International Law at its Turkeyen Campus.
She believes her father would have celebrated her progress enthusiastically.
“He would have been so proud of this achievement. Me graduating with this degree. Knowing him, he would have been bragging about this to everyone. He would be sharing my achievements on his social media timeline and telling other people about my progress,” she said.
But completing her undergraduate studies after his death was difficult. Accustomed to presenting herself as strong, Nasiya struggled to acknowledge the extent of her grief.
“There were days when I lay in bed all day, refusing to get up or do anything. But, in the middle of that grief, I did not want to give up on my studies,” she said.
“It was an overwhelming feeling. I felt alive, but, like I was stuck still in a place … where everything felt unreachable.”
Her family and the university helped her continue. Jermaine Clarke, Head of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Business Management, arranged psychological support through UG, while the institution also assisted her with her examinations.
She received additional support from the H.E.A.R.T. Initiative—Hope, Empathy, Aid, Resilience and Trust—a national support and recovery programme launched by President Irfaan Ali.
With help from what she called her “village of support”, Nasiya completed the outstanding assignment and examination.
“I had the support to push me together to the finish line,” she said.
As graduation approaches, she hopes that carrying a framed photograph of her father will allow her to include him in the occasion. She also wants to establish a charity or non-governmental organisation in his name.
“I know my father would have been proud,” she said.
Her experience has left her with a message for other students trying to complete their education while coping with loss.
“Do not give up, do not give in,” she said. “While you’re feeling like you cannot, try to hold to the faith of God. When you no longer find the strength to carry forward, let your purpose carry you through.”
Asked what she would say to her father now, her answer was simple: “I’ll continue to make you proud.”
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