Islington (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Raymi Willka Saldana Rojas, 14, musician from Islington, drowned in Amsterdam’s River IJ, raising an outpouring of tributes and condolences from the community.
When a teenage music prodigy drowned while on vacation in Amsterdam, his parents claim they can’t find any closure until they understand exactly what happened.
After visiting the Netherlands with a friend’s family, Raymi Willka Saldana Rojas perished in the River IJ in July of last year.
“I question how my son drowned there, because he didn’t know how to swim,”
said his mother, Jeanette Rojas.
She doesn’t think he would have gone into the sea on his own initiative and risked his life.
Since then, she claimed, there has been news of a half-hour delay by emergency services before the search for Raymi began because of a “miscommunication.”
“My son’s body was found an hour later,”
she alleged.
A British coroner will look into Raymi’s death from last July, but his parents claim that attorneys have quoted them about £60,000 for their legal counsel.
To pay for the cost, they are currently crowd-funding.
Raymi, a musician from Holloway in Islington, was already so well-known that the Guardian newspaper wrote an obituary about him, calling him a “virtuoso multi-instrumentalist.”
Raymi, who was born in London to South American artists Jeanette and Carlos Saldana, was a pianist, flute player, and charango player.
He was the youngest performer to ever play at Camden’s Jazz Café and was a student at William Ellis School in Gospel Oak. He had also performed with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
According to Jeanette, the school intends to plant a tree in his honor.
“How is it possible a beautiful life can be just finished, like that?”
she asked.
“Just honouring him is not enough. No parents deserve to suffer this.”
Jeanette said she learned of her son’s death by phone, from the family he had travelled to Amsterdam with.
“It was surreal,” she said. “We were in complete shock – and I am still. We can’t process this.”
It was too late to book a flight that day, but they flew out first thing the next morning.
“His body was in the mortuary and we had to go and recognise him,”
Jeanette said.
“Our lives are destroyed. My son had lots of dreams. He was working on that. That is the reason we want to find answers – to find a little bit of rest. Because right now, we don’t know the truth.”
Jeanette described her son as “really, really exceptional”.
“Most people know him as a gifted musician,”
she said.
“Within, I think, seven or eight months, he started to make music, sitting in and thumping the high chair. In his short life, he did a lot. He was in grade 8 on piano. He was preparing for grade 8 on flute.
We realised, I think when he was eight years old, that he had perfect pitch. That is a real gift for a musician.
He was a natural writer, he loved reading. He was exceptional in maths. He had the world at his feet. He could have done whatever he decided. But his life was cut off. He has no voice now – but we are here, as his parents, to speak for him. He deserved to live.”
More than £22,000 has been raised through the “Help Us Seek Justice For Raymi” donation page on the CrowdJustice website.
Jeanette remarked, “We feel so humble.” The solicitors will receive a direct transfer of all funds on that platform. The family does not have any money.
If the family raises enough money, Imran Khan Solicitors will represent them at the inquest.
Authorities are improving the signage along well-known waterways to make it more obvious that swimming and boating are dangerous, particularly in places where accidents have happened in the past.
“We are determined to find out what happened to Raymi – what could have been done to save him and how we can ensure no other family suffers the same unimaginable heartbreak,” the page says.
Because Raymi died abroad, navigating the legal system has been incredibly difficult, especially as English is not our first language. We are originally from Bolivia and Peru, but Raymi was born here in the UK”,
the parents added.
The family said it was awaiting an inquest date from the coroner.
What are the circumstances of the drowning?
According to reports, Raymi fell into the river while on a boat. His family is looking for answers about what happened and the specific circumstances that led to his demise.
His parents are seeking money for an inquest to look into Raymi’s death’s circumstances in more detail, expressing their sorrow and bewilderment over the tragedy.
Raymi wanted to pursue a career in music and was well-known for his musical ability. His friends, family, and the neighborhood have all been greatly impacted by his sudden passing.
In order to determine how the tragedy happened and whether any safety precautions may have avoided it, the family is calling for a comprehensive inquiry.
The municipality is concentrating on educating locals and tourists about water safety, especially young people who might participate in recreational activities close to bodies of water.