Paria survivor, divers' families united in grief at Kazim Ali Jr's funeral

Overcome with grief, lone surviving diver Christopher Boodram hugged the coffin of his friend and teammate Kazim Ali Jr at his funeral on Saturday.

Family, relatives and colleagues gathered at the compound of LMCS Ltd, Tarouba Road in Marabella to pay their respects to Ali Jr.

The funeral service took place at his home in Gopaul Lands, Marabella, which is a short distance from the company’s location, and streamed live. Ali Jr’s funeral was scheduled to take place on Friday but was deferred because his death certificate did not have a time of death.

Boodram could not contain his emotions. Still in physical pain, he slowly limped across to the coffin, bent over and burst out crying. He was consoled by Ali's father, Kazim Ali Snr – the managing director of LMCS, and other co-workers. He then left the area and went back to his vehicle.

The co-workers, as a sign of tribute, were all dressed in LMCS' uniform with the company's logo.

The relatives of two other men who died in the tragedy – Fyzal Kurban and Rishi Nagassar – were present at the funeral. The family of a third diver who died, Yusuf Henry, who live in Sangre Grande, was not able to attend but reached out to the Ali's before the funeral.

People started gathering from 1 pm for the service which began at 2 pm. The body arrived at LMCS around 2.30 pm and then was taken to the San Fernando Yacht Club, Ali Jr’s favourite place, according to his relatives. He was buried at the Marabella cemetery under Muslim rites.

The funeral was quiet and solemn. As the wind carried whispers, people were still shocked over the loss of 36-year-old Ali Jr, a son, father, husband and friend.

The officiating imam said Ali Jr lived his life bravely and this was reflected in his job and with his daily responsibilities.

“Honour the legacy of Kazim’s (Jr) by being brave. He was a devoted husband and father. There is no doubt he was a very supporting son, especially in the enterprise founded by his father and I am sure he was a dear friend, colleague and neighbour to many, among his other relations that he shared,” he said.

The imam said regardless of religion or fate, everyone made mistakes and needed God for daily guidance, forgiveness and mercy and urged people to develop a spiritual relationship because no one had control over the time they put on earth.

“We have no control over our time on this earth, we have no control over how long we will be in this life but what we have control over is what we do with this time here.

“He (Ali Jr) was the type of person who applied himself in a very industrious manner with respect to whatever would have been the responsibilities under his care and charge, starting with his immediate family.”

The imam added that Ali Jr’s early death has shown that life and love should not be taken for granted.

His wife of 12 years, Jamie said, “We’re all grieving today because he has touched every one of us in his own special way. He was our provider, our protector, our comedian, our lover and our life.

“When the news broke his army surrounded us and took care of us, so babe, rest easy and know that we will be taken care of,” she said with a cracked voice, trying to control the flow of her tears.

The couple has a three-year-old daughter.

One of his sisters, Kate, who delivered the eulogy, said her brother was hard-working and loved the band Coldplay. His other sisters are Fiona and Sinéad.

Fondly known as Bean, she said he was an influencer of many things, compassionate, charismatic and lived fearlessly.

“Over the past week, we have heard countless stories of his willingness to help others, his sense of adventure but above all the feeling that he would never let you down. These memories have brought us so much comfort and joy.

“He had a great passion for the sea, his second love. He had the most powerful engines and top-of-the-line speaker systems and his photo galleries were filled with clips of rippling water and his favourite song on repeat. If you hear Coldplay blaring out, you will know he was close by," she said.

The five men who worked for LMCS, a private contractor, were doing underwater maintenance at berth six at Paria Fuel Trading Co Ltd, off Pointe-a-Pierre, on February 25, when they were sucked into a 30-inch pipeline. Boodram was rescued that same day.

The bodies of Kurban, Ali Jr and Henry were recovered on Monday night and Nagassar’s body was found early on Thursday.

Henry’s autopsy said he died by drowning. Sunday Newsday was unable to get the cause of death for Ali Jr and Kurban. Nagassar’s autopsy is scheduled for Monday at the Forensic Science Centre.

Kurban's funeral is scheduled to take place on March 8 at Mosquito Creek, San Fernando.

Henry’s sister, Afeisha said they were still having problems getting his death certificate and was told her brother’s death needed to be recorded in San Fernando because his death occurred there.

She told Sunday Newsday on Saturday afternoon that it was frustrating to be travelling from Sangre Grande to San Fernando and get the paperwork finalised.

The families of Henry, Kurban and Boodram are being represented by a team of lawyers, led by Prakash Ramadhar – a former MP and government minister – who on Friday said legal action may be filed against Paria.

On Thursday, Energy Minister Stuart Young announced that a five-member committee has been tasked with investigating the circumstances that led to the Paria tragedy.
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