The Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING

FAMILIES of the migrants who died in the failed human smuggling tragedy last month had until yesterday to claim the bodies of their loved ones, said activist Louby Georges.

After his statements last week that he would be assisting the families of the victims of the incident where a boat capsized, Mr Georges said he spoke with the Haitian Chargé d’Affaires to The Bahamas Anthony Brutus on Tuesday regarding funeral arrangements for unclaimed victims.

“There was no date set for the funerals. What he did say to me, however, is that there is a deadline, the 24th, for families to claim loved ones’ bodies,” he said.

Mr Georges added that Mr Brutus advised families to at least make contact with the coroner and give notice of when they would be coming, before the deadline.

“His advice was that they make contact and properly advise that they would be coming down and would like to claim their families. I’m not sure how far they would have gotten with that, but I will follow up with them. Should they not have claimed by today (Wednesday), the remaining would be handed over to the embassy, for them to move forward, so they will have their final count and they can make the necessary arrangements,” Mr Georges said yesterday.

Thus far, Mr Georges said two families have reached out to him for assistance with claiming the bodies of their loved ones.

“I did have two families that reached out to me, but they’re based in the States and I turned over the contacts for the coroner. I will follow up with them to find out if they were successful in making contact. And if they were, what was said to them, seeing that the chargé said that (yesterday was) the deadline,” he said yesterday.

The chargé also reported on the repatriation of the migrants thus far, said Mr Georges.

“Out of the 25 survivors, 20 were repatriated and five remain and they will be a part of the trial along with the smugglers,” he said.

It has been one month since this smuggling tragedy, which left 17 Haitian migrants dead. On July 24, some 50 people were travelling in rough seas near Blackbeard’s Cay on a 33 ft twin engine vessel when it overturned, police said.

Officers suspected the boat had been travelling to Miami as a part of a human smuggling operation.

Following the incident, the Haitian government had pledged to cover the funeral expenses of the unidentified victims who died.

According to Bahamian officials, six of the 17 people who died from the tragedy have been identified.

Five of the victims are listed as follows: Mary Saimphorin, Kourtney Volmyr, Annette Mesidor, Bobley Fertilus, and Altanice Ivroy.

A funeral for Altanice Ivroy and her young daughter Kourtney Volmyr was held on Sunday, August 21.

According to the Associated Press, there is a “surge in Haitians fleeing their country” due to “rising violence, kidnappings and increasing economic crisis”.