Every time the phone rings, Esther Frank still hopes it is her son.
Three weeks after the MV Barima sank with her son Rawle, 33, among the crew, Esther refuses to accept that he is gone, even after official search operations have concluded.
Rawle, of #42 Village, West Coast Berbice, had served with the Transport and Harbours Department for more than a decade when the vessel sank.
Esther, 54, said recent assurances from President Irfaan Ali that efforts would be made to raise the vessel had given the family renewed hope.
“The President said they are going to get people to come and help bring up the boat. That is all I prayed for, that they would be able to bring up the boat so we could be satisfied with whatever,” she said.
She said she had earlier heard suggestions that the vessel might be left on the seabed as a memorial because of the challenges involved in recovering it.
“When I heard what the President said, it gave me hope. I am praying that things work out just as he said,” she added.
“No, I’m not giving up hope. I still feel that he’s alive. I’m not giving up. I just pray that if I could at least see him, I would feel satisfied. But I feel like he’s still alive, that’s how I feel and I’m not giving up hope,” she stated.
Esther is appealing to those leading the ship recovery efforts to do everything possible to get it up.
“If they could do something, bring up the boat. Try your best, get whatever help or assistance is needed to bring up that boat. It would make everybody feel satisfied,” she said.
Esther said that even if her son is not found aboard the vessel, she continues to place her faith in God.
“If he’s not in the boat, I pray that one day God will show us. Many times when the phone rings, I hope it’s him. I still try calling his number. It rings, but there’s nothing. I just keep praying and trying to stay strong,” she said.
The Frank family says it will continue to hold onto hope until it receives the answers and closure it has been seeking.”
