Aliya Bulkan plunges into Kaieteur Falls
According to a Patamona legend, Kaieteur Falls was named for Chief Kai who acted to save his people by paddling over the falls in an act of self-sacrifice to Makonaima, the great spirit.
Sources say that at one point during the tour around The Falls, Bulkhan was seen to be lagging behind the other tourists, and that it was at this point that she was seen to make a sudden dash towards the edge of the precipice, screaming at the top of her voice as she plunged into the abyss below, leaving her friend and the other passengers in shock and disbelief. [Guyana Chronicle]
Barefoot Lady by Aliya Bulkan
Hauntingly lovely, barefoot lady
wild raven hair, contorted by
the galloping horses of the wind
Mr. Love and Mrs. Faith
drowning in the icy pools
of her eyes
Simmering nimbus in indigo pot
Gelid waters lick her feet
and tried to erase the memory
of her footprints
The gash in her face
slowly widens, and releases
her birds of song
once trapped, in the cage of her mind
With each flutter of wings
forbidden thoughts
Thus flutter of heart
Damn you, say the crunch
of broken glass
that was once sand
Knives, once fingernails
Stain porcelain
with streaks of scarlet and tortured pools
weep bloody tears
Celestial canvas screams from labour pains
finally pushes out thunder
And she is sucked to the bottom of the earth.
I think what happened to Aliya is sad. She was so beautiful and young.
Well she definately had some personal or psychological issue !
Hope the body washes up !
With all respect due to the young lady that sacrificed herself …may cause this historic episode to effect a name change of the great Kaieteur falls…maybe renamed the Bulkan falls !
Not everybody believes in the supernatural forces but I just can’t imagine anything else being responsible for a brilliant individual like Aliya Bulkan jumping over Kaieteur Falls. Many (I among them) believe that black water hosts spirits that crave life. And somehow I believe that is the mystery behind this so-called suicide.
Supernatural foeces my ass…..Aliyah Bulkan probably had personal problems which are not being revealed to the public and who can blame them….nobody wants their problems out in the open air and there are already numerous speculation sourrounding her braven suicide…..TO THE BULKAN FAMILY, I OFFER MY CONDOLENCES and hope that others may learn from your loss…..because I know there were signs….there always are.
PARENTS talk to your children, follow up on their academic and social lives, it might be the only thing that can save them.
It seems that she may have been hearing voices and jumped to her death.
There have been many suicides at Kaieteur Falls over the years
according to the criminals in govt. there has never been a suicide at kaieteur falls
the entire army and concerned elites have been deployed to find/recover the body
such is the power of money and fleeting fame
The entire army and elites are looking for her body??!! sounds suspicious!!
My sincere condolences to her family and friends. This story tugs strongly at one’s heart. She seems to have disappeared in full view. We are all little souls searching for ourselves.
seems like she was in a poetic moment
What utter nonsense u speak of there you people …Dacia those are wise old tales… and Abyss …maybe she heard your voice calling at her ..and do u have the stats. to substantiate your statement above…on suicides!
what is your problem..enigma…when i say she may have been hearing voices..i mean she was psychologically troubled.
You bunch of fools …stay of this site if u know whats good for u !
did you not say in your above reply that she may have had psychological issues??? If anyone are the fools..it would be the other ridiculous comments on here about this girl…except yours!!
It’s so sad yet tragic. May allah guide and give her family the strength to deal with this horrific tragedy.Bless her soul.
RIP Alyia
A young, beautiful, talented woman. In her short life her achievements are many. She will never be forgotten by those who truly knew her and loved her.
How sad!! such wasted talents. Is Aliya related to the Bulkan’s from number 11, West Coast Berbice, Guyana?
May her sole rest in peace
New Jersey Arya Samaj Humanitarian Mission extends their deepest sympathy to the Bulkan’s family
On behalf of myself and the Board of Directors, Executives and members of The New Jersey Arya Samaj Mandir, Inc., Humanitarian Mission and its Guyana Chapter, we extend our heartfelt and deepest sympathy to the Bulkan’s family on the passing of their precious daughter. Her demise was received with great shock and sadness.
There simply are no words at this moment to express the sorrow we felt after reading the newspaper about the awful death of your precious daughter a few days ago, and we can only imagine how devastating this must be for you and the rest of your family. Of course your life is forever changed as a result of Aliya’s death ~ because there is nothing, nothing, nothing as painful as losing a dear child. After all, we are not supposed to outlive our children, are we? It goes completely against the natural order of things, it is so terribly unjust, and it is so very hard to accept.
There isn’t much we can say or do to ease your pain of separation from Aliya. However, please take comfort in knowing that our sincere prayers and thoughts are with you and your entire family during this very difficult time of seperation. We recognize that there is much pain involved in letting go of someone so dear to you and so loved by you but we encourage you to surrender your pains to God Almighty, knowing that God is capable of and will remove the pain of separation. Additionally, be assured in knowing that God loves you, He is holding out His arms to comfort you at this critical juncture of your life, and that our collective prayers to God will strengthen your heart to find the solace you truly deserve for being such a compassionate and caring parents to Aliya.
Your daughter was one of those extraordinary people who will never be forgotten in a lifetime. Her life was like a sunbeam that lit up the world around her, her family and friends. Now that she is not physically here with us, we can bask in the rainbow of her loving memories that will live forever in our hearts. I know you had a wonderful time being with your daughter, and it means a lot for the entire family to know that you got to be with Aliya one last time, before her earthly address was exchanged for a heavenly one.
I’m sure you already know that the bond you had with Aliya will be with you always, just as long as you keep her loving memory and the love you share with her alive in your heart. You will always be her parents, and Aliya will always be your beloved daughter deep within your heart. Death may have ended her life, but it certainly does not end the relationship you had with her. Although she is no longer physically present, it doesn’t mean you cannot continue to love her in her absence. I hope the precious memories you have of your precious child will one day bring you comfort, and that you’ll come to find, in the lovely words of Hugh Robert Orr:
“They are not dead who live in hearts they leave behind. In those whom they have blessed they live a life again, and shall live through the year’s Eternal life, and grow each day more beautiful as time declares their good, Forgets the rest, and proves their immortality.”
No, it won’t be the same without her by any means, but we will go on as best as we can and look forward to the day we will meet her again in eternity, the City of Mukti. We shower you and your entire family with our prayers and trust each of you will draw strength from God, your many spiritual friends and family who want to help you through this very difficult time. “Death ends a relationship, but not love.”
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this sad and difficult time.
Wishing you peace and healing,
Sincerely,
Pandit Suresh Sugrim
President, NJASM Humanitarian Mission
We embrace the family with all our love and compassion.
Poem for Aliya’s Mom and the Bulkan’s Family
Mom please listen to me
As I take time to write.
I see parents struggling daily.
Their pain is such a fight..
All of us who have gone on
And left the rest of you behind.
We’re ok. Mom, I promise.
Heaven is beautiful, and God is kind
You used to tell me that one day
God would call and take you home.
You told me you’d make me strong
So I would stand tall when alone.
But things happen sometimes, Mom
That does not go in our plans
,
I wasn’t scared,Mom,
When God held out his hand.
I didn’t want to leave you.
I didn’t have time to say Good bye
When the angels said, “Come with us”
There wasn’t time to question why.
I’ve watched you daily,Mom.
It hurts to see you cry.
I don’t want you to be unhappy,
Just because we didn’t get to say Goodbye
Tell the others what I’m telling you,
So many parents need to know
That Earth was just a lay over
We had another place to go.
I know you miss me, Mom
I know your heart was broken in two.
But God really needed me
Because my earthly life was through.
I’m always alongside you.
I smile and touch your hair.
I whisper” Mom, I love you”
You just can’t see me there.
I’m the one who gently touches you
On your shoulder when you’re sad
I’m Happy now that you finally found
God again, and are no longer mad.
Tell the parents, Mom, for me
That all of us kids are okay.
God had plans for our lives
When he called us home that day.
I love you, Mom, I always will
And remember I’m not far away.
We’re going to be together
When God calls out your name.
Finally found …RIP A.B…sincere sympathy to the Bulkan family !
May Aliya rest in peace.
Attempts to retrieve the body of 23-year-old Aliya Bulkan still continue as the search team makes their way along the rocky terrain surrounding the basin of the Kaieteur Falls.
The body was spotted Tuesday floating in a pond at the bottom of the falls.
A senior official from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) told the Guyana Chronicle that the search team has abandoned its attempt to get to the basin through the gorge because of the rough terrain.
Instead, the source revealed that a path around the gorge is being cut so that the body of the young woman can be retrieved.
Bulkan and a friend, Ms. Lisa Ahmad, were among eight others on the trip to Kaieteur Falls, including the pilot, when Aliya jumped off and into the gorge.
The 23-year-old’s sister, Ms. Camilla Bulkan, when contacted yesterday, could only say that she was not in a position to speak on the matter.
It’s really sad…growing up as a child, i heard many stories about spirits etc.cause my grandparents and mum are Amerindians…so I’m really torn between believing in something to that effect and other more logical explanations.
This is total nonsense…every agency in Guyana is under criticisms…. can Guyanese do anyhting at all without being criticised ?
Damn the military function is one of search and rescue ….and trained personnel cannot get to a corpse, much less lost persons…they may have died already !
Simply put the Commander in Chief is a clown….the helicrappers they possess cannot even fly into that terrain…because that is the only heli crapper they have so they dont want it geting wet before it malfunctions as the other one did !
i lived in the big city that is new york
i didn’t know this girl personally but i know people who know her and truth be told she was dating a black man over here
i hear the parents were very mad about this
all angles of the suicide must be explored
I heard the same thing…
If this is the case, her parents shall live with the guilt for the rest of their lives…
Aliya and her family will be in my prayers.
Maye some fetish was goin down among few parties !
sorry that such a young girl ended her life like that , but i think thats how it was meant to be .she felt so happy at such a place . maybe she didnt want to leave .no psychiatrist cant explain such behaviour , but i can share her feelings as i go thru similar situations .whenever im on top of high buildings ,i get a different feeling . im mesmerised . like you get a high . looking down is like you are in a different world. you feel like jumping off to get a thrill or that high feeling . like its urging you .you have to be in that situation to feel it .sometimes when im in such heights i get lost . i keep staring away till i feel like im moving .its a strange feeling . so imagine being at kaiteur falls with such splendour and majestic heights . i might have wanted to be part of it . im talking from experiences . please take some time to think about it .thank you .
my sympathy go out to the parents of aliya bulkan and her sisters and other relatives . i feel for her .i know it will make other people wonder why ?but she did it willingly of her own will and was happy too.i know strange things do happen and its hard for us to accept .i hope the bulkan family read this as to understand—possibly—-why aliya did what she did . then there are lots of people going thru stress without showing it . even psychiatrists cant see it , and someone like aliya may find a place like kaiteur a nice place to relax forever . may aliya rest in peace .
some very strange facts are coming out of these suicides . from the news i learned that lisa prashad also lived in NYC just like aliya bulkan . were they forced to live in guyana against their will? i know for a fact no young new yorker will find it comfortable to live in guyana wiuth all those blackouts , crimes and water problems plus mosquitoes and sandflies .they will love a vacation there for sure , but its going to be very hard to live there especially if they lived in NYC , or nearby .and they both lived in republic park. theres got to be something deeper than wjhat we are hearing .every nook and cranny needs to be examined for facts .
Aliya’s Body Recovered
By Michelle Gonsalves and Michel Outridge – Guyana Chronicle
The body of 23-year-old Aliya Bulkan, who reportedly leapt from the escarpment on the Kaieteur Falls last Saturday, arrived at the Ogle Aerodrome, East Coast Demerara yesterday at 16:00 hrs on an Air Services charter.
The army had reportedly let down a 1,200 foot rope into the bottom of the gorge with which they secured the body, which was afterwards transported by aircraft to Ogle.
It was an emotional scene, as Aliya’s parents, siblings and other family members gathered at Ogle Aerodrome to console each other, murmuring words of comfort.
The body was then placed in a hearse and conveyed to the Sandy’s Funeral Home in the city where other relatives and friends showed up.
They comforted each other with hugs and sat outside the funeral home in quiet discussion as arrangements were made for the storage of the body.
Family members were too distraught to speak to the media and asked for time to grieve for their loved one.
The body was spotted on Tuesday floating in a pond at the bottom of the falls.
A senior official from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) told the Guyana Chronicle that the search team had abandoned their attempt to get to the basin through the gorge because of the rough terrain.
Instead, the source revealed that a path was cut around the gorge so that the body of the young woman could be retrieved.
Troops from 31 Special Forces yesterday recovered Aliyah’s body from the rugged terrain of the Kaieteur Gorge.
The GDF said the troops, comprising two Officers, 12 soldiers and three civilians, inclusive of one family member, recovered the body at about 13:45 hours yesterday. It was placed in a body bag and tied to a stretcher, which was then hoisted to the top of the Kaieteur Falls, from where it was dispatched at about 15:05 hrs to Ogle airport.
Bulkan and a friend, Lisa Ahmad, were among eight others on the trip to Kaieteur Falls, including the pilot.
Their flight with Roraima Airways left Georgetown at 8:15 hrs and reached the destination point at 9:15 hrs.
Eyewitnesses claim that, at the end of the tour, the falls being the last stop on the tour of the Kaieteur National Park, the young woman turned back, in the direction of the falls, making the deadly leap over the 741 ft. (226 meters) waterfall.
Four days earlier, on Monday, November 9, the recovery party arrived at Kaieteur Falls at 09:00 hrs and, after a preliminary assessment of where the body could have landed, began the recovery effort. Their search along the escarpment led them to the Amerindian village of Tukeit where a command post was established. The body was sighted from the top of the Kaieteur Falls and this information was passed to the recovery team at the bottom. The recovery efforts were thwarted by the particularly difficult terrain in the gorge. However, the team continued, using another route and further civilian expertise, which led to the eventual recovery of the body yesterday.
The troops are still in the area and will return to Timehri today.
My condolences to the family. While I sympathize with the family, She probably needed help but didn’t seek it and frankly, I think a person with her intellects should have seek professional help…she was educated int he US and the colleges have all kinds of programs geared for counseling. Even alumni can continue to benefit from those programs. Was she selfish or what? Leaving grieving folks behind.
My sympathy to the family and friends
famous family…..
interesting..
RIP
http://guyanaforestryblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/precision-will-now-have-to-pay.html
I just can’t imagine problems can be so severe as to send a young woman with a bright future plunging into Kaeiteur Falls.
When someone commits suicide it means that they feel this is the only & best solution to their problems.
Huh…..How about she should have seek help? Psychotherapy would have helped.
Yes psychotherapy would have helped…long term therapy. But we don’t know if she sought help or not. The point is that she chose this road to exit her life.
This young woman definately had severe pysho issues and didnt even have to work since her family are multi millionaires ….Precision woodworking is well established and all she probably could have done was write poems all day and publish them and live happy ever after !
R.I.P. Aliya Bulkan
I miss you and I will always love you
I will always remember you as my friend
that I met for the first time in Guyana
Hope you have a safe and happy journey
P.S. Can’t forget how you pulled me to dance
for 8 hours straight
man I miss you
the elites flew in on the family’s planes and their own sky wheels