Coral Gardens survivor Bongo Isaac has died

WESTERN BUREAU:

Family and friends of the Rastafarian faith have been plunged into mourning at the death of the elder Bongo Isaac, a survivor of the 1963 Coral Gardens atrocity.

Isaac, 86, passed away at the Cornwall Regional Hospital last Wednesday.

Judith Virgo, his adopted daughter, confirmed his passing. She told The Gleaner that her father was battling cancer for some time and was admitted to hospital last Sunday when his condition worsened.

Virgo said it’s really hard to come to terms that her father is gone.

“For someone who was not his biological child, he took good care of me and taught me how to survive even if our most profound losses are survivable,” she said.

Isaac survived an assault on Rastafarians by agents of the State at Coral Gardens, where Rastafarians were imprisoned, some killed, and others faced severe harassment.

He became a founding member of the Coral Gardens Benevolent Society and key negotiator, defending the rights of his faith and compensation from the Government for the injustices that were meted out to Rastas

Lewis Brown, public relations officer of the Coral Gardens Benevolent Society, says the Rastafarian community has lost a giant in elder Isaac, who will forever live on in their memories as a true survivor.

“He was a humble man, but when he speaks his voice is like many waters, very powerful like an archangel,” Brown said. “Elder Bongo Isaac was a stalwart in the Rastafarian movement, especially in the western region, and he will be missed.”