Cedros woman at funeral of drowned grandson: 'Take me Lord, bring him back'

Unable to compose herself at the funeral of her 14-year-old grandson, Bhagmanee Sookoo hugged his casket and called on Almighty God to return the teen to life.

Between sobs, she pleaded for Him to take her life instead so that Matthew Andrew Sookoo could be alive once more.

"Take me Lord! Take me, and bring him back!" the 62-year-old grandmother repeatedly pleaded in vain.

Scores of mourners gathered at the funeral on Friday afternoon at the family’s home at Fullarton Village, Cedros. Many tried to console Sookoo, telling her not to make such a request.

But, Sookoo continued and even had "conversations" with Matthew.

She said, "Papa yuh gone. Why you leave we? (sic)"

Matthew, also known as T-man and Soldier, would have turned 15 on July 1. He was a student of Cedros Secondary School.

He fell overboard at sea in a boat accident last Saturday. Villagers and Coast Guard officers found his body two days later, on Monday.

Matthew’s parents, Shanty and Marlon, sat facing each other with the closed casket separating them. The blue and silver casket had a coloured photo wrap of Matthew.

Shanty’s aunt, Wendy Ramnarine, eulogised the teen, saying he recently had a "prophetic dream."

He dreamt he died and encountered the Lord.

Mathew grew up with his parents, sibling and extended relatives, including his grandmother.

"The environment was love, love, and more love. He loved sports, and he loved the sea," she said.

Ramnarine said Matthew demonstrated his independence as a young man by preparing meals for himself in the kitchen.

At times, Matthew acted as his mother's personal bodyguard. He also looked up to his dad, she said.

Rev Sentoma Jaggernath, of Cedros Missionary Baptist Church, officiated saying death has no age. He told mourners that there is comfort in the Word of the Lord.

Holding a bible, he encouraged mourners to read it. He said Matthew was sleeping in the arms of Jesus Christ.

Minister Ronald Sookbir, of the same church, prayed for God to grant the bereaved family the strength to go on.

Sookbir considered Matthew a pleasant child who had a passion for the sea.

To the bereaved family, Sookbir said: "Let him go. The promise is he is in the hands of the Lord."

Other mourners paid tributes, saying Matthew was a respectable child.

Villagers formed an honour guard with bats as the coffin was leaving the house.

Accompanied by a music truck, the body was taken to the Fullarton cemetery for burial.