Latest update November 5th, 2024 1:00 AM
Guyanese missing on Suriname/French Guiana border reportedly found alive
Three days after he disappeared while trying to enter French Guiana illegally, Ramdat Ramrattan has been found alive, much to the relief of relatives here.
Word out of French Guiana is that Ramrattan, 42, was discovered by a search party in a remote location on the Cayenne side of the border with Suriname, some time Tuesday night.
He appeared to be dehydrated and was reportedly taken for medical attention.
Ramraj Ramjattan
Relatives here told this newspaper that they received a telephone call on Tuesday night from Ramrattan’s nephew in French Guiana informing them that he was found alive.
Ramrattan disappeared last Saturday night while attempting to cross the Albino River, which borders Suriname and French Guiana with his nephew and a few other persons.
According to the nephew’s father, who gave his name a Sarwan, the men were confronted by the security forces on the Suriname side of the border and plunged into the river to avoid arrest.
When they reached the French Guiana side of the border they discovered that Ramrattan was missing and assumed that he went down after being wounded when the security discharged a few rounds at them.
However, as it turned out, Ramrattan was carried by the tide to another location along the river bank and was separated from the rest of the party.
After his disappearance, a man who is familiar with the area led a search team to look for him.
“They call he name and he recognize dem voice and he answer,” Sarwan told Kaieteur News.
Sarwan said that his relative in French Guiana had seen the news item of Ramrattan’s disappearance on the internet and quickly moved to allay fears that he was dead.
He explained that Ramrattan indicated to his rescuers that although he was hungry and weak, he remained in hiding out of fear of being captured by security forces in the French territory.
But despite the good news, some other relatives who hail from Bee Hive on the East Coast of Demerara are still not convinced by everything they are hearing.
They do not believe the version of events surrounding Ramrattan’s reported disappearance.
“First dey sehe they de swimming across from Suriname to Cayenne and he go down in de river. Ram could swim.
Me and he used to swim across the de Mahaica River,” another brother Tularam Sarjoo told this newspaper.
Now some relatives are even questioning that he has been found alive and well.
They are accusing another section of the family of covering up “something”.
Yesterday, the two factions ended up before the police at the Clonbrook Police Outpost where they attempted to iron out their differences over the issue.
They all agreed that the only way of putting it to rest is to hear from Ramrattan himself.
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