(Akwesasne) “It’s heartbreaking,” Akwesasne resident Barbara Oakes Cook said Saturday as search continues on the St. Lawrence River in that community. This week, eight people, including two children, died trying to reach the United States by this sea route. The identity of the Romanian family found dead was made public by Mohawk police in Akwesasne on Saturday evening.
They are Florin Iordache, 28, Cristina Monalisa Zenaida Iordache, 28, a two-year-old child and a one-year-old infant. The couple had in their possession the Canadian passports of their children.
As for the identity of the four Indian nationals whose bodies were also found, it has not yet been confirmed.
The search resumed at 7:30 a.m. in Akwesasne, in the area where a total of six adults and two children died, the local authorities said. The Press Chief Shawn Dulude of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service Saturday morning. In the middle of the afternoon, several local police boats were still crisscrossing this sector where several islands divide the St. Lawrence River.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Police discovered the bodies of five adults and a child in a marshy area on Thursday, and recovered the bodies of a baby and an adult woman on Friday.
Akwesasne Mohawk Police are working with Immigration Canada and the United States Department of Homeland Security to confirm their identities, authorities confirmed in a statement Friday.
Research is continuing with the assistance of divers from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), said Mr. Dulude. Given the weather conditions involving rain in the morning, the SQ helicopter began to fly over the area from the end of the afternoon.
The search continues in particular to find Casey Oakes, a 30-year-old resident of Akwesasne who has been missing since Wednesday.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY AKWESASNE MOHAWK POLICE DEPARTMENT
Casey Oakes
Mohawk police have so far made no direct connection between the deaths of the eight migrants and the disappearance of Mr. Oakes, who was last seen Wednesday night on a boat. The boat belonging to him was found overturned the next day next to the bodies of the migrants.
A disrupted community
The community of Akwesasne is shocked, both by the bodies discovered and by the disappearance of Mr. Oakes, a target of general suspicion, several residents indicated to The Press.
“It’s really sad, it’s heartbreaking and very difficult to absorb,” lamented Barbara Oakes Cook, met in the convenience store in Snye, the area of Akwesasne where the tragedy took place.
Our waters [le fleuve Saint-Laurent] connect everywhere, and we use them mainly for survival, with fishing, she explains. And there is something that should never have happened. These people lost their lives hoping for a better life in another country.
Barbara Oakes Cook
The community reacted quickly, especially on Facebook, added Mme Oakes Cook. And according to her, the authorities must do more to stop human trafficking. “The police must do their job, because this is not the first time that residents have seen people arrive like this, and they call the police who do not react”, she denounces, citing information circulating on social networks.
Another fear: that Akwesasne’s reputation would be tarnished by the tragedy. “We will be seen as those who killed these people, killed this baby. It’s awful, we are really devastated, ”she testifies.
Volunteers for research
Val Gray, owner of the Three Feathers internet cafe, also summed up the mood of the community saddened by the tragedy to The Canadian Press.
People are sad. They hope anyone involved in the tragedy can be found.
Val Gray
Mme Gray says he doesn’t know Casey Oakes. However, her father, a member of the community, is one of her clients.
The Mohawk council gave him the mission to feed all the volunteers who take part in the research. Mme Gray says she’s served breakfast sandwiches for the past two days and dinner on Friday.
“The community supports each other. Each supports the other in one way or another, whether it’s the volunteers scouring the area or the companies donating to the volunteers. This is our community. No matter what, everyone is ready to help. »
A few volunteers gathered at the Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Station as police blocked access to the marina.
To USA
Akwesasne straddles the Canada-US border, with parts of the territory in Ontario, Quebec and New York State. The Quebec section is approximately 130 kilometers from Montreal.
According to the hypothesis of the authorities, the two families were trying to reach the United States through Mohawk territory.
Authorities say the territory’s unique geography makes it a popular place for smugglers, with police making 48 separate interceptions involving 80 people trying to enter the United States illegally since January.
With The Canadian Press