PM VISITS FAMILIES OF MISSING FISHERMEN

On Saturday, November 16, 2013, Prime Minister and Parliamentary Representative for Vieux-Fort South, Hon. Dr. Kenny D. Anthony, visited the families of the two missing fishermen in Vieux-Fort.

Prime Minister Anthony took the time to express his sorrow and concern by visiting the homes of the immediate relatives of Mr. Ishan Calixte, who, at the time of his disappearance resided in the Baccardere, Vieux-Fort. His cousin, Natasha Nanton thanked the prime minister for his presence and took time to share with Dr. Anthony some of her fondest memories of ‘Ishan’. She explained that since receiving the news of his disappearance on November 02, 2013, her family has continued to pray for his safe return and hopes for positive news.

The Prime Minister also spent some time in Bruceville, Vieux-Fort with the family of Sardick Bertie Louisy. He again expressed his distress at the news that Bertie’s children and family continue to suffer emotionally since the news of his disappearance. Dr. Anthony urged his girlfriend, Ms. Valine Norton to keep the faith that the fishermen were spared the worse.  Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony has expressed concern about the safety of fishermen.

“So far this year, four fishermen from Vieux-Fort have been reported missing. Two went missing in February of this year. Now we have the disappearance of these two. This is a significant number of fishermen to lose in one year. In each instance, they have left behind families, in particular children, who suffer considerable emotional trauma and distress.  Fishermen are a very important part of our livelihood and our economy.  We must do more by way of training them to manage those occasions when emergencies arise,” Dr Antnony said.

He went on: “While visiting the families in Vieux-Fort on Saturday, some fishermen expressed concern about communication between the Coast Guard and fishermen. While I intend to discuss with our Coast Guard how communication between the Coast Guard and fishermen in distress can be improved, it also seems to me that we have to enforce the requirement for all fishermen to carry basic safety equipment with them, for example, safety vests.”

Prime Minister Anthony urged all to continue to pray for the missing fishermen and their families and where possible, extend some assistance to their children left behind.