RADHICA DE SILVA
Senior Multimedia Reporter
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Christopher Boodram, the lone survivor of the Paria diving tragedy, admitted in an online forum hosted by the group Keep it Real Politics on Tuesday night, that he still can’t muster the strength or willpower to return to work. He said his family survives on the salary of his wife, a nurse at the San Fernando General Hospital.
In response to a question from former Occupational Safety and Health inspector Safraz Ali, Boodram said: “Financially, it’s tough. We are surviving on the bare minimum.
“The day-to-day burdens of inflation also make it difficult to pay for everything, including our bills. Two days ago, I got a letter for land tax. That is an added burden on my shoulders. At this point, I cannot work.”
Boodram said without the efforts of his wife, his children would have suffered.
He explained: “I am not getting enough sleep. I went to bed at 3.30 am and then at 6.30, I got up. I am restless during the day. The only sleep I get is from pure fatigue.
“When I try to sleep, I gasp for breath. I feel cold and wet like I am back in the pipeline. I suffer from anxiety. It’s like reliving the moment every single night. All the counselling, sleeping tablets, mental exercises—I don’t know if it helps. How many sleeping tablets can I take without damaging my body? It’s tough.”
Boodram’s attorney, Prakash Ramadhar, has called for an ex gratia payment of $5 million to be paid to Boodram and the families of divers Rishi Nagessar, Yusuff Henry, Kazim Ali Junior, and Fyzal Kurban who died on February 25, 2022, while doing offshore maintenance work on a Paria pipeline.
A Commission of Enquiry that looked into that tragic incident made recommendations for corporate manslaughter charges to be laid against Paria executives and deemed the state energy company to be negligent for failing to mount a rescue mission while the men were alive inside the pipeline.
