GUYANAS Ambassador to the Organisation of American States (OAS), Odeen Ishmael said yesterday that his office is willing to assist United States (US)- based Guyanese who would like close relatives from Guyana to join them in the US, as they seek closure after losing loved ones in the recent terrorist attacks on America.

Some 24 Guyanese are among the more than 6,000 persons missing and feared dead under the rubble of what was once was the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

On September 11, terrorists crashed commercial jets into the towers and the Pentagon in Washington, leaving a trail of death behind.

Pictures and information provided by the relatives of the dead and

missing tell stories of talented men and women. Some were young and others middle-aged or mature.

Over the past two weeks, some families have struggled with the pain of losing loved ones and the anguish of being separated from other close relatives who are in Guyana.

Parents who lost a daughter, long to be comforted by a son, who is thousands of miles away.

At the same time, that son is himself tormented because he cannot say goodbye to his sister, wipe his mother's tears or hug his other siblings.

"I do know of a few cases. One family has made a formal approach to the Guyana Consulate in New York. What I can say is that if other families affected by the tragedy make similar approaches, we will issue a letter which can be taken to the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown," the Ambassador to the OAS said. He, however, stressed that the actual granting of a visa would be at the sole discretion of the Embassy.

According to Ambassador Ishmael, the letter that would be issued to the families of victims of the WTC disaster, would state that the Guyana Consulate is satisfied that the person seeking a U.S. visa is the close relative of a victim.

"And hopefully, that letter along with other information and documentation would be considered by the US Embassy as it makes a decision on the visa application," he added.

The Ambassador said he recognised that Guyana and the USA, just before the September 11 disaster, were in talks over the deportation of about 150 potential Guyanese deportees who have been identified and who allegedly committed offences in the U.S.

Reports are that there are about 244 deportees said to be Guyanese who the US authorities want to send back to Guyana.

A Reuters reports had said that the U.S. State Department would sanction Guyana by ordering the cessation of the granting of visas to Guyanese, if Guyana refused to accept the deportees.

Guyana was given a 30-day grace period to come up with a decision.

Ambassador Ishmael said he did not believe that the deportees issue Could affect the chances of the families of victims who will be seeking visas.

Meanwhile, yesterday, New York Mayor Rudolph Guiliani for the first time gave an indication, that it was unlikely that any survivors were under the ruins of the Twin Towers, where workers with the aid of heavy machinery have been digging for the last 14 days.

The Mayor announced that families of victims could from today begin visiting special centres to start the process of having their missing relatives declared dead.

Dr Ishmael said that most Guyanese families with missing loved ones are beginning to face reality.

"We will be seeking advice from people in the legal field to provide advice to those who need it, on how they should proceed. It could be a long process," the envoy said.

Ishmael also reported that the Guyana Consulate in the U.S. has received letters of gratitude for its support to various families affected by the tragedy.

"It is a small staff but Consul General Evans in New York and myself in Washington have been contacting families," he said.

"From the outset, we contacted the various Guyanese organisations in the U.S. and appealed for information and names of missing Guyanese," he added.

According to him, initially some families held on to the hope that their relatives were alive somewhere, and as a result did not report them missing whiles others may have had other reasons for not coming forward.

Ambassador Ishmael is scheduled to be in New York on Sunday to attend a Prayer Vigil and Day of Remembrance for Guyanese feared dead after the terrorist attack on America.

The event will take the form of an Ecumenical Service and has been organised by the Cultural Association, New York in association with the Consulate of Guyana in New York, and the Guyana Tri-State Alliance.