HGP Nightly News – Sending survivors of the MV Barima disaster home without adequate psychological support was “reckless,” We Invest in Nationhood General Secretary Odessa Primus has argued, as she called for an urgent national trauma-response programme.
Speaking during a joint press conference held by opposition parties, Primus said survivors had endured what could be the most traumatic experience of their lives and should not simply have been medically examined, discharged and expected to cope alone.
“To send a person home who has just gone through perhaps the most traumatic experience they would ever have in their life, to me, that is reckless,” she said.
It remains unclear what counselling and follow-up services were offered to individual survivors before their discharge. The government has established family-assistance centres, but Primus argued that support must extend into affected communities and remain available long after the immediate emergency ends.
She said the psychological consequences were not limited to those who escaped the capsized ferry. Relatives waiting for news, families identifying bodies, fishermen recovering victims and volunteers exposed to distressing scenes may all require professional help.
Primus warned that Guyana could face another crisis if that trauma is ignored.
She called for counselling hubs in communities, dedicated mental-health hotlines and structured follow-up care for survivors and families. Rescue workers, medical personnel, fishermen and private citizens participating in the recovery effort should have access to the same services, she added.
Many volunteers rushed to help despite having little preparation for the scenes they encountered, Primus said. While their willingness had strengthened the operation, some were emotionally overwhelmed in real time.
She proposed basic psychological first-aid training for fisherfolk and other community responders. Such training, she explained, would help them recognise trauma, respond safely to people in distress and identify when professional intervention is necessary.
It would also acknowledge an uncomfortable reality: the people searching for victims may eventually need help themselves.
Primus expressed particular concern about the constant circulation of graphic images and painful accounts across social media. Guyanese were already coping with personal and economic pressures before the disaster, she said, and repeated exposure to images of deceased children, pregnant women and other victims was adding another layer of distress.
The Ministry of Health, Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport could jointly develop counselling services, public guidance and more responsible messaging, she suggested.
Primus also criticised what she described as weaknesses in Guyana’s wider emergency planning. She questioned whether the country had learned enough from earlier disasters, including the 2023 Mahdia Secondary School dormitory fire, which killed 20 children.
“What has to happen for us as a society to work as one?” she asked.
The WIN general secretary said a tragedy of this magnitude required cooperation among the government, opposition, private sector, civil society and volunteers. Political differences should have been put aside immediately, she argued, with all available resources coordinated through a common response.
According to Primus, opposition representatives should have been invited to participate formally from the beginning. Instead, she claimed, Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and others became involved in the recovery effort through their own initiative.
“The onus was on the government to get all of us involved,” she said.
“This is not a Region One tragedy. This is a Guyanese tragedy.”
Primus warned that the emotional burden could deepen as more victims are recovered and families confront their losses. Accounting for everyone who travelled aboard the MV Barima remains urgent, she said, but the national responsibility cannot end there.
Meanwhile, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, assured victims, survivors, and families of the tragic MV Barima mishap that the government would provide long-term psychological and physical support. She pledged continuous care for the affected communities.
