Maria Giakoumaki, the mother of the bullied student who went missing on February 6, was the tragic figure at the funeral in Selli, Crete, on Tuesday, just 17km from Rethymno. People gathered to pay their last respects to Vangelis Giakoumakis, the boy who stoically and silently dealt with months of degradation by his peers at the Dairy School of Ioannina before committing suicide.

Unable to handle the weight of the tragedy she fell as a heap, crying, before rising again to continue with the ordeal of attending her only son’s funeral.

Held by her daughter and husband, Andreas, they said ‘Farewell’ to the soft-spoken young man who had been part of their family for the last 20 years.

The boy’s uncles George Andriadakis and George Vidiadakis, well-known for their television appearances representing the family during the hunt for the missing boy whose traces disappeared on February 6, stood by the parents. “The night is difficult. Maria doesn’t talk to anyone, as though she wants to take off from the time when she stopped speaking to her son. She hugs his photo and talks to him. A mother buried her son. How can that fit into the human mind?” says Andriadakis. “We’ll get used to it but we need time to fathom the tragic incident.”

By 11 a.m. the crowds gather at the family’s home and join in the tragic mother’s dirgy. Only Vangelis is missing as the family bonds tightly together to deal with the loss. “There is no hate, just pain,” says Andriadakis, who states that the family longs to know exactly what happened in the last moments and days of the young boy’s life.

The uncle of the unfortunate student points out that Vangelis’ parents, sister and relatives are exhausted. “I’d like to believe that the situation will calm down here in the village, but that will only happen when the police gives answers. There will of course be the painful judicial procedure, but Vangelis’ memory needs to be vindicated. That is what the family wants now,” he said.