RN38062023

STORY:

A 15-year-old girl has been charged with “maliciously” killing 19 children by setting fire to a school dormitory after her cell phone was taken by a teacher.

According to a statement from the Guyana Fire and Rescue Service, a fire “ravaged” Mahdia Secondary School in western Guyana just before midnight on May 21, killing 18 female students and one 5-year-old boy.

It was reported that the teenage girl appeared in court virtually on Monday 29th May 2023 and was charged as an adult for the 19 murders. The teen wasn’t allowed to enter a plea to the charges. She is to make another court appearance on July 5 when it will be determined if the trial can begin.

Investigators allege the teen started the fire in the dorm bathroom after her cell phone was confiscated. The girl faces life in prison if convicted.

At the time of the fire, there were 56 female students present in the concrete and wooden building, the fire department reported in its statement. The windows of the dorm were also barred, and five doors were locked. Many of the bodies were “burned beyond recognition,” Guyana President Dr Irfaan Ali said in a press conference the day after the fire, and DNA samples were sent to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City for identification. According to Guyana’s Department of Public Information (DPI), the results have been returned and all victims have been positively identified.

While the total number of injuries was not released, about 13 students were transferred to hospitals with injuries, according to the DPI. One victim was also taken to the burn center at Staten Island University Hospital in New York City over the weekend due to the severity of her injuries, according to the DPI.

“She underwent two surgeries, and her condition, though critical, improved steadily,” added the DPI. “This transfer was deemed necessary out of an abundance of precaution and made in the best interest of the patient.”

President Dr Irfaan Ali in the press conference stated as follows:

“I want to assure all the families, all Guyanese, that the government will fully support all these families and these children, provide all that is necessary in support of these families and children at this time,”

“All the parents and children are under continuous support from the Mental Health Team including the psychiatrist, psychologist, counsellors and social workers,” added in its statement over the weekend.

Source: people.com

SENSES (Child Safeguarding and Protection Principle):

This is a horrifying allegation of a child killing other children and raises quite several Child Safeguarding and Protection issues which need to be addressed.

As primary and secondary parents we must resolve as a necessity the capacity of our precious children towards their inevitable roles in Securing A Friendly and Protective Environment for themselves and those around them.

For us to help our precious children in the foregoing regard, we must be committed building our capacity as primary and secondary parents to understand and discharge care and protection, which begins with our understanding that KNOWLEDGE(what to do), SKILLS (how to do it) and ATTITUDE(fortitude to do) must be deliberately acquired by us.

In today’s volatile world, the concept of care has become very dynamic, and it would mean, keenly and constantly observing and anticipating the needs and threats to our precious children and make adequate preparations to meet those needs and mitigate/prevent those threats well before they arise according to global standards.
This case the 15-year-old girl has been charged with “maliciously” killing 19 children by setting fire to a school dormitory after her cell phone was taken by a teacher is a sad reminder of our precious children’s attachment to social media and the devices with which they access it.

We are reminded again that precious children are dealing with so many influences and vices, which foundation is the excessive exposure and addiction to the social media and the devices with which they gain access to it, phones, tablets, tv, laptops and the rest.

As a Child-Focused Organization we do not believe that killers are born. We believe we make them through our lack of meaningful parenting efforts. The family and community have a huge role to play in laying the foundation of the childhood of a child which in turn determines the life the child would lead as an adult.

STONE (Call to action):

It is important that as primary and secondary parents we put in place measures to regulate the type of media content our children are exposed to, first by inculcating a positive value system in our children, beginning from being good examples to them. This will include empowering them with soft skills like empathy, self-awareness, emotional intelligence and many more to enable them to understand what life entails and how to relate with people in the most humane manner.

We must teach them to appreciate life, respect and acknowledge every living thing.

As primary and Secondary parents we must always keep out of the reach of our precious take measures to regulate the type of media contents our precious children are exposed to. In doing this we must also ensure that they only have access to social media platforms that are age-appropriate for them.

Finally, we believe that better attention and emphasis should be targeted towards the subject matter of responsible parenting as the core of making or marring the destinies of children is their primary and secondary parents.