(Trinidad Guardian) Rima Hosein lost her two sons weeks apart–her youngest son Matthew Hosein, 17, mysteriously disappeared on August 25.
Her firstborn, Mikiel Hosein, 19, who went in search of Matthew, also vanished on October 31. Mikiel’s decomposing body was found nine days later.
The double tragedy, she told the Sunday Guardian, is the “worst nightmare” of her life.
“I had both my sons. I worked hard to mind them boys and then to lose them like that in a matter of weeks has been a hard blow for me … a real hard blow. Life will never be the same again,” said Hosein, 39, during an interview on Tuesday.
The mother strongly believes that Mikiel’s relentless search for Matthew drove him to his death.
Hosein said Matthew was in a joyous mood after collecting his Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate results and several awards at his Carapichaima West Secondary School in August. He had obtained seven CXC passes and set his heart on becoming a cardiologist. However, he never lived to fulfil his dreams after vanishing on Arena Road, Freeport, on August 25.
An extensive five-day search by the Hunters Search and Rescue Team (HSRT) and police came up empty-handed.
Rummaging through Matthew’s belongings for clues, Hosein said she found suicidal notes which she handed over to the police.
In one note dated August 20, Matthew requested that he be buried in a particular outfit and a special song be played for his funeral service.
“I don’t think Matthew killed himself, he had so much to live for,” Hosein said, admitting that many people envied her son for his accomplishments and the clothes he wore.
Hosein said Matthew’s strange disappearance tore the family to pieces and pushed Mikiel to search for his younger brother with whom he had shared a special bond.
“I warned Mikiel not to go looking for Matthew. I told him that was the police’s job and let them do their investigations but he refused to listen.”
On October 31, Hosein said Mikiel left home, stating that he was going to search for Matthew. Hosein recalled her last conversation with Mikiel.
“He told me he was going to find whoever killed Matthew. I advised him not to go searching or to ask questions because it could land him in trouble.”
She said Mikiel had accused her of taking Matthew’s disappearance “too easy” and was determined to bring some closure to his disappearance.
Mikiel was last seen in a Chaguanas bar with friends but never made it home.
Hosein began searching for her second son.
On November 9, the grieving mother heard an unidentified body was found at Woodford Lodge in Chaguanas. Deep within her gut, Hosein said, she knew the corpse was Mikiel’s but was prevented by the police from viewing the body which they believed was a 63-year-old man.
“One officer kept telling me it have nothing for me to see, that it was not my son. As a mother, you does know when your child dead. I smell Mikiel in the house, it smelt of death.”
The night Mikiel left home, Hosein said, her stomach started to churn as she knew something was wrong.
For three weeks Hosein waited for someone to claim the body, but no one stepped forward. Eventually, she was given clearance to view the body in late November at a funeral agency in Couva.
It turned out that Hosein’s intuition was right, as the first thing she noticed on the corpse was a tattoo Mikiel had engraved on his left arm after Matthew went missing.
The tattoo bore Matthew’s name with two doves which signified the brothers’ love and devotion for each other.
“It was just a small piece of flesh with the tattoo that was stuck onto the bone that I was able to identify Mikiel’s body.”
Hosein said due to the body’s advanced stage of decomposition, Mikiel’s cause of death was unknown.
“The body had no kidneys, heart and liver, there were no organs to determine how he died.”
The unfortunate turn of events, Hosein said, weighed on her.
Turning to God for comfort, Hosein said there have been more questions than answers, as she needed closure on Matthew’s disappearance and Mikiel’s killers to be brought to justice.
As for Christmas, Hosein said, this is the last thing on her mind.
“How could I celebrate Christmas knowing that Mikiel was killed and his murderer or murderers are still roaming free while Matthew is still unaccounted for? I can’t bear to see everybody with their children for Christmas and I don’t have Matthew with me. This pain is too much, just too much. I cry every day not knowing where my son is or what has happened to him. I now know how a mother feels when they lose a child. But knowing you lost your two sons weeks apart, oh God, this is killing me.”
Hosein said she has been trying to be strong for her five-year-old daughter Annalise Lopez who has not been coping well.
Annalise and Mathew were inseparable.
“The hardest thing is not hearing Matthew’s voice and I still cannot accept Mikiel is gone.”
Promising not to give up hope, Hosein said, she has put all her trust and faith in God.
“I am not giving up. I just hope Matthew is alive.”
