Schools in shambles after use as shelters
On yesterday’s newscast we looked at some of the people who rode out Keith in the relative safety of Belize City’s hurricane shelters, most of which were housed in educational institutions. Today, with residents moved back into their own homes, the question arose of who will clean the schools?
Jose Sanchez, Reporting
Since Keith has passed over Belize, many people have been commending the National Emergency Management Organization for an excellent job in mobilizing crowds to the designated shelters. While that may be true, some educators in Belize City believe that NEMO and some hurricane victims have plenty more homework to do.
Lisa Clare, teacher St. Mary’s Primary School
“I think teachers have been too complacent for too long. Everything that comes our way, we sit down and take. But I think there is a time when enough is enough, and I personally have had enough. When I came to my classroom I was totally dismayed and very angry because I don’t think that teachers should come and have to clean their classrooms after they have left there on Friday and their classrooms were in order. The people responsible for the shelter here should have commandeered the people and had them clean the classrooms. People came and totally destroyed our classrooms. It’s disgusting. It doesn’t say much for a people on a whole. When you get into your classroom the stench was so disgusting. Your charts, your books…They left the toilet paper they used to urinate in the classroom, the toilet paper rolled are right there. I don’t think its fair. I really don’t think its fair.”
While the teachers of St. Mary’s were left with the mess and could only wonder exactly what was going on during the storm, one educator of Sadie Vernon High School, who sheltered in that institution’s home economics room, perhaps saw too much.
Jennifer Cadle Teacher, Sadie Vernon High School
“I had the experience of the building actually shaking. And then water started to pour in from the roof. I was scared because I thought that after the roof became water soaked, that it would collapse. Secondly, the BDF, who were stationed here to monitor the people and what was happening, I don’t think they did a good job because they weren’t patrolling and the guys that were here, the rough guys, told the police what they will do and what will or will not happen. They were smoking weed.”
A drug bust was made at Sadie Vernon during the storm. While that school may not have received much damage, the biggest problem for neighboring St. Luke’s Primary was not Hurricane Keith, but the same people who sought protection within the school’s walls.
Jose Sanchez
“Was there any vandalism done to the school?”
Darren Humes, Teacher St. Luke School
“Lots of vandalism. For example, you can see the types of chalkboards we have here, and in one classroom that was torn from the wall. The garbage was left in many of the classrooms piled high. Night soil, buckets of night soil all over the place, writings on the wall, books were destroyed, and those were things that were done physically.”
“If this mess is left for teachers to clean, that’s unfair. I think NEMO should have been in charge of cleaning up the mess that was left here. It’s unfair for teachers to have to come in and clean people’s stool and all that was left here. As you can see, there are buckets with stool. I’m not saying one bucket, buckets! Stool on the verandah, garbage, mess, broken furniture all over the place. That’s very unfair for teachers who have to come and clean here. This building wasn’t even a designated hurricane shelter. That shows poor organization by NEMO. This is one end where they slipped up, and it’s unfair. I am refusing to clean my classroom. I will not touch it.”
Reporting For News Five, I am Jose Sanchez.
After making an assessment of Belize District primary and secondary schools, the Ministry of Education has decided that classes are cancelled until Tuesday October 10th. This will give authorities time to properly clean and repair the school buildings.
