RADHICA DE SILVA
radhia.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Stumbling behind her husband’s casket with tears streaming down her face, Vanessa Kussie walked with grieving relatives and friends from their home to the Carli Bay Cemetery yesterday.
It was there she said farewell to her husband, diver Rishi Nagassar.
His body had been encased in a sealed coffin, engraved with an image of him bearing the wings of an angel.
Nagassar, 48, was a father of three.
During the funeral, niece Ashley Beharrylal gave the love story of Nagassar and Vanessa when they met 13 years ago. At that time, Vanessa had been running the Naughty Girls Restaurant and Rishi used to visit the restaurant every day to have a drink.
“He always sweet-talked her and called her curly hair. He used to say he dreamt of a girl with curly hair and she was the woman of his dreams,” Ashley said.
While the wives and mothers of the other fallen divers comforted her, Vanessa gazed at the coffin and cried.
Officiating Pundit Surujdath Maharaj said the family was still in shock and disbelief. However, he said despite the problems, they could not allow themselves to carry the burden of the tragedy.
“I want you today to not put any blame in any way... not our nation, the Government or the company. Let us not put blame on anyone, let us not carry that burden,” he said.
Another niece, Ashwarie Beharrylal, recalled how Nagassar loved his family.
“Because of his love for the sea, there were many beach limes and fishing trips,” she added.
Vanessa’s uncle, Allan Seepersad, said the family had not slept since the divers disappeared in the pipeline on February 25.
He said for two days he did not bathe because the family spent hours waiting on Paria Fuel Trading Company executives to come to the Pointe-a-Pierre gates to speak to them.
“Nobody ever came to that gate and for days nobody from Paria enquired how Vanessa was feeling,” Seepersad recalled.
MP for Couva South, Rudranath Indarsingh, told mourners Nagassar was the last to be buried. He said even after all the funerals were completed, the pain will not go away.
“There is a need for justice, transparency and accountability for all the citizens to be known and we will not rest until we get justice,” he said.
Indarsingh added, “These families need closure and support. There are wives, mothers and grandmothers and children who are hurting and they will need support to overcome this tragedy.”
Couva North MP Ravi Ratiram also said the families deserved justice.
“Rishi did everything to ensure his family was happy. He made a sacrifice to rescue other divers who were in difficulty. We salute him. Rishi you have lived a wonderful life,” he added.
Councillor Ramchand Rajbal Maharaj said February 25 will always be remembered as a black day in the history of T&T.
“The lack of compassion showed to the family leaves a distasteful feeling. We understand that someone can die in the line of duty but not showing compassion was unacceptable. We will stand with the family,” Maharaj said.
Also attending the funeral were Movement for Social Justice’s David Abdulah, Opposition MPs Barry Padarath and Vandana Mohit and Couva/Tabaquite Talparo Regional Corporation chair Henry Awong.
