A week after the MV Barima tragedy, 64-year-old Vernie Brown says she has still received no information about the fate of her 44-year-old son, Kyon Brown, who remains unaccounted for, despite travelling to Charity to search for bodies and continuing to pray for answers.
Speaking with Kiskadee Watch yesterday, Brown said she recently returned from Charity after personally searching for signs of her son but came back empty-handed.
Brown said she had also attended church and continued praying while waiting for news but lamented that no official information had been provided to her about her son’s fate. “They ain’t telling you nothing,” she said when asked what updates she had received from the authorities.
Despite the passage of several days since the ferry capsized, Brown said she remains uncertain whether Kyon was trapped inside the vessel or lost at sea. Asked whether she believed her son was still inside the wreck, she replied, “It’s a luck and a chance.”
Although she has returned home, Brown said she has not abandoned hope and indicated that she intends to continue travelling to Charity as the search and recovery efforts continue. Her son boarded the government-operated MV Barima in Georgetown on July 18, intending to travel to the North West District before heading into the interior in search of employment.
The ferry departed Georgetown shortly after 3 p.m. and issued a distress call shortly after 11 p.m. before capsizing approximately seven miles offshore near the mouth of the Pomeroon River.
When Kiskadee Watch first spoke with Brown, she recalled accompanying her son to the wharf and helping him purchase food, a hammock and other supplies for the journey. She said Kyon had been determined to leave Georgetown in search of better employment opportunities. “Mommy, I don’t need to stay in this town anymore. I need to go,” she recalled him telling her.
Brown said she supported his decision, believing he would have a better chance of finding work in the interior.
She also expressed concern about the condition of the ferry before it departed, saying that she observed cargo continuing to be loaded onto the vessel and believed it appeared heavily laden. “The boat was overloaded with cargo and with passengers. It was overloaded,” she charged.
Having travelled on the MV Barima several times in the past, Brown argued that vessels operating the coastal route should undergo proper inspections and be adequately equipped before leaving port. “That boat should have never left this port unless it is fully equipped,” she had said.
Brown’s anguish has been compounded by uncertainty surrounding the ferry’s passenger manifest. Authorities initially reported that 116 passengers and 17 crew members were listed but later acknowledged that several survivors had not been recorded on the manifest, complicating efforts to determine exactly how many people were on board.
The MV Barima disaster has claimed dozens of lives, with search and recovery operations continuing as authorities work to locate the remaining missing passengers and identify recovered victims. Brown remains among the relatives still waiting for definitive answers about the fate of their loved ones.
Based on the latest information from Prime Minister Mark Phillips, 30 persons remain unaccounted for more than a week after the MV Barima capsized off Guyana’s coast, leaving families trapped in agonising uncertainty as search and recovery efforts continue.
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