The family members of a 20-year-old fisherman who disappeared at sea four weeks ago are homeless after their Adelphi New Area, Canje house in Berbice was destroyed by fire on Sunday evening.
Akram Jahoor, 22, said no one was at home when the fire started around 7 pm, at the back of the one-flat wooden structure.
He lived there with his parents and two younger siblings and they are now staying at the home of his grandmother.
He recalled that his father was at work and he and his mother were walking from the head of the Canje Road to get home, a “good distance” away.
When they were almost there, they noticed the thick smoke billowing, but were unsure of where it was coming from.
Instinctively though, he started running towards it and was devastated when he noticed that it was their house that was engulfed.
The poverty-stricken family was unable to save anything from the little they possessed. The house did not have electricity and they cooked on a fireside outside of the house.
Misery
The fire has added to the misery they were already facing after Nezam Jahoor’s disappearance.
While Jahoor is not claiming that the two incidents are related, he said the family is not ruling out foul-play as the cause of his brother’s disappearance.
He said the captain of the boat, ’Smallie,’ had initially told the family that Nezam was standing on an ice box, pulling in seine, when they heard a splash and realized he had fallen overboard.
The family contacted the owner of the boat, ‘Ghandi,’ who resides at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, a few times, but he behaved very arrogantly. They were disappointed too that he never tried to reach out to them to even offer any consolation.
Now, they are receiving conflicting accounts of what exactly transpired at sea. The stories that the three other fishermen; one in Suriname and the other three from Mon Repos, are relating to their people, are not adding up.
According to Jahoor, they are hearing that at the time of his mishap, Nezam was trying to grab a fish, then he was trying to fill a bucket of water while another account is that his foot became entangled in the seine.
Jahoor recalled that at age 17, his brother went to Suriname and started working with some Guyanese fishermen.
After six months, they advised him to obtain his fishing ID. He returned home with “good money” and helped his family.
When he turned 18, he got his ID and returned to Suriname and started working on Ghandi’s boat.
He resided at the home of a woman his family knew from Guyana. The woman told his family that Nezam, who recently celebrated his 20th birthday, had not been paid for three weeks.
She was the one who broke the sad news to his family that he was missing, after she received a call about it from one of her relatives who works at sea.
Nezam communicated with his family often and would send money home for them sometimes. He even promised that he would help to repair their dilapidated house.
Meanwhile, Jahoor said the family went to meet the ‘B’ Division Police Commander but he told them he could not do anything because the incident occurred in Suriname waters.
They also travelled to Suriname to meet with the commander and the inspector and made complaints about the incident.
The officers told them that they would “have to get the authority from the police in Guyana” before they can come to investigate the matter.
Meanwhile, Saeed Jahoor, 57, stated that he was on his way home from work at Albion Estate when he noticed smoke and fire and was surprised when he realized that it was his home on fire.
“Nobody ain’t went home. My neighbour them see when the fire first start, they said the thing start from my bedroom. When I come with the truck on the dam I see the fire I tell the men the people burning rubbish. They said (it) look like you house burning, I said `like y’all mad’. But is when I reach on the bridge and I see the fire spreading then I run off the truck and when I run to it people saying Day-Day house burning”, he told Stabroek News.
He noted that it was just a month ago that his son had disappeared.
“My head ain’t set. People are donating some clothes and so, all my documents burn up. The children missing school. The teacher call this morning and tell me they want them in school because they bright. It saddens me, every time I talk about it I could holler, this thing hurting my inside. I have to start with life all over again now”. Jahoor stated.
Persons desirous of donating to the family can contact them on 604-2933 or 726-8681. (Additional reporting by Milton Grannum)
