“I hope they will bring my husband back”

Relatives of Lalta Sumair, one of the missing fishermen, are anxiously awaiting news from the authorities. The fisherman’s oldest daughter, Shaneuha Bactheus, pointed out that the last time she spoke to her father was Friday. “Everybody knows my father as Sunil and he is the only wage earner of the family. We don’t know how we’ll survive. My parents have 4 daughters. I hope they find my father alive.” Sunil’s wife pointed out that he had already been at sea for 14 days. “He made contact with me on Friday and asked me how me and the kids were doing. We were shocked to hear that four fishing boats had been attacked by pirates at sea and that 16 fishermen my husband included had gone missing. I hope they will bring my husband back alive,” said the woman who added that her husband’s employer has not contacted her. When she called him, he claimed that there was nothing wrong with her husband. He also told her that she would she her husband alive and well. But her oldest daughter received word that her father’s fishing boat was sunk at sea and that there are no survivors. Sunil’s mother pointed out that she saw her son last two weeks ago because they live far from each other. “Sunil is my second son and I believe in a living God and I strongly believe that they will find my son. Maybe he swam to a place to find help. I hope that the other families will also see their loved ones again.” Reports indicate that the Federation of Surinamese Agrarians (FSA) on Thursday started collecting money for the families of the missing fishermen. “Most of the missing fishermen were the only wage earners of their families. Many of the families do not know how they’ll survive. We therefore decided to start collecting money with the help of the National Coordination Center for Disaster Control (NCCR) so that we can help the family members during this period. We are urging people to donate money or goods for the next two weeks. People can donate money by depositing it at account 167163501 of the Surinaamse Postspaarbank (SPSB) and those who want to donate goods can deliver them at the FSA’s office located along the Letitia Vriesdelaan number 9from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.,” said Diego Rodriguez, treasurer at the FSA.