GEORGETOWN, Guyana A family’s desperate search for answers has become one of the most heartbreaking stories to emerge from the MV Barima tragedy, as Opposition Member of Parliament Odessa Primus stood beside the daughter and niece of two missing victims and appealed for greater compassion, accountability, and urgency in the government’s response.
Speaking with visible emotion, MP Primus explained that the family had been contacted and told that one of the missing men’s bodies had been recovered. Clinging to hope amid unimaginable grief, the victim’s brother traveled to Charity to make the identification.
Instead of finding closure, the family endured another devastating blow.
“The body they claimed was my father was not my father,” the young woman, Jasmine Kurt, said through tears. “My brother could not identify any of the bodies as my father. Neither my uncle.”
Primus described the ordeal as “another tragedy unfolding in the handling of this tragedy,” revealing that the family has received no counseling or emotional support despite days of uncertainty.
“I have been speaking with this family for quite some time,” Primus said. “I heard the distress in her mother’s voice. She was wailing in pain. There are cries and screams and concerns all across this country, and these families deserve to have their concerns heard.”
For Jasmine Kurt, the anguish is compounded by not knowing whether her father, Neil Kurt, and her uncle remain trapped inside the sunken vessel.
“The last time I saw my father was Saturday morning when he left to go to work on the MV Barima,” she recalled.
“At this point, I do not know where my father is. I do not know where my uncle is.”
Fighting back tears, she described the emotional toll of speaking publicly.
“My family has never known pain like this, and sitting here talking to you is taking every fiber of my being to stay strong.”
Her appeal soon broadened beyond her own family’s suffering.
“I would like to make an open plea to everyone who is watching, every citizen of Guyana, to come out and speak, to hold the Government of Guyana accountable for what has transpired,” she said.
“I need to know where my father is. I need to know where my uncle is.”
She urged authorities to deploy every available local and international resource to raise the vessel without delay.
“I do not want to wait. I would like it to happen now. Every resource that they have available to them, local and international, should be used to bring the boat up so that I can know what happened to my father.”
Closing the interview, Primus echoed the family’s plea, urging the President and the Government to authorize every possible effort to recover the vessel and any victims who may still be trapped inside.
“We’re running against the clock,” Primus said. “That has to happen with the greatest of urgency.”
As Guyana continues to mourn one of the country’s worst maritime disasters, the story of Jasmine Kurt and her family underscores the human cost behind the casualty figures. For families still waiting, the tragedy is not over. Each passing day without answers prolongs a grief that no family should have to endure.
