As the wife of the late Rishi Nagassar, one of the divers who died in a diving incident at Paria Fuel Trading prepares to celebrate her son’s fifth birthday, she said life after the tragedy has not been easy.
While the single mother said she cannot grant her three sons their wish to see their father again, one of her wishes this month is for Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to finally meet the families of all five divers involved in the tragedy.
Kussie along with Annisa Kurban, niece of the late Fyzal Kurban, delivered a letter to the Office of the Prime Minister, Whitehall yesterday requesting a sit down with Rowley. The letter was signed by relatives of all five divers.
February 25 marked two years since the incident at Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd’s Pointe-a-Pierre location, where LMCS divers Fyzal Kurban, Kazim Ali Jnr, Yusuf Henry, Rishi Nagassar and Christopher Boodram were sucked into a pipe where they were contracted to work.
Boodram was the lone survivor.
But in the two years since the incident that rocked the entire nation occurred, Kussie said no one from the Government ever visited her.
Last month, the Prime Minister said he was willing to meet the families of the victims of the diving incident, but he would not play politics with the tragedy.
Yesterday, the families said their letter was a sign of acceptance and they too did not want to bring politics into the matter.
Kussie said, “My boys, they are not too well, especially the baby. He’s always asking for his dad all the time. I am still trying to figure out ways to explain to him. It’s questions upon questions and I cannot answer them all. It’s a sad thing to know that up to now the Prime Minister of our country has not even met us and this is a big tragedy that has hit the whole country, and all we’re asking for is for him to come and meet the family, see how we’re living, see how we’re doing.
“I think the timing is far too long. Two years plus it’s too long then for this to happen. Yes, it’s a bit emotional but yet I have full confidence that he will be meeting the families as soon as possible,” she said.
Kurban said she wants the Prime Minister to meet the families and one of the topics to be discussed will be the 52 recommendations coming out Paria Commission of Enquiry (CoE).