Penal brothers begin new life apart

Grieving siblings, Brandon Roopnarine,nine years old, and Darion, five years old, whose parents died last weekend when a car ploughed into the couple pose for Newsday’s cameraman yesterday. The brothers will now live apart as Brandon’s mother will be taking him home to live with her.
Grieving siblings, Brandon Roopnarine,nine years old, and Darion, five years old, whose parents died last weekend when a car ploughed into the couple pose for Newsday’s cameraman yesterday. The brothers will now live apart as Brandon’s mother will be taking him home to live with her.

Two brothers, aged five and nine, who escaped death last Sunday in an accident which claimed the lives of their parents, are to be separated this weekend. Brandon Roopnarine and his brother Darion will begin a new life on Monday at their new homes in Fyzabad and Rio Claro respectively.

Brandon’s biological mother, Asha Samlal has already told his paternal relatives she will be taking him to her Fyzabad home tomorrow to live with his two stepsisters, aged three and seven. Samlal said yesterday while it was a difficult decision to separate Brandon from Darion, she had no choice but to do what was best for him. She promised he would maintain a close relationship with Darion.

Samlal said after she separated from Brandon’s father Khemchand Roopnarine, she left her son in his care and remarried. Samlal said her son’s stepmother Patricia Ali was an excellent mother to Brandon and she considered Ali a sister. She said Brandon spoke highly of his stepmother and was also close to her. Last Sunday, Brandon’s father and stepmother, along with Brandon and Darion, were returning from a cousin’s home in Penal close to where they lived when a car knocked down and killed Roopnarine and Ali. Brandon and Darion escaped unhurt. The accident has left the two boys shaken. Samlal said her son begged her to take him back to Fyzabad, since he did not want to return to the house he had shared with Roopnarine, Ali and Darion.

“He packed all his belongings after the funerals and told me to take him home with me. I have since made arrangements to have him transferred to the Fyzabad Presbyterian School and he is expected to begin classes there on Monday.”

Samlal said, “I know it will be hard for Darion to be separated from Brandon, because he has already lost so much. But I have to do what is right for my son, and if I had to take Darion into my care I would also do it without a second thought. But I have been told Patricia’s aunt, who lives in Rio Claro, has already decided to take him to her home, where he will begin his new life and recuperate from the trauma that he is undergoing at this time.”

She said every attempt will be made to provide counselling for her son and added that the intention is not to cause any further hurt to the siblings

The driver of the car which ploughed into Brandon and Darion’s parents had not been detained up until yesterday.

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