Deadly Mahdia fire: “Tough love” needed to address indiscipline, behavioural change among children – Pres Ali

…says religious community must play ‘more robust’ role in moulding youths
…as CoI report flags unfavourable societal, mining influences leading up to tragedy

Notwithstanding the fact that the Mahdia dormitory fire was an act of arson, Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI), Retired Major General Joseph Singh has outlined that it was the end result of several societal plagues.
As he handed over the final report to President Dr Irfaan Ali on Friday at State House, the Chairman drew attention to the negative influences of the mining culture on communities.
Highlighting the vulnerabilities facing young girls and the influence of mining, which sometimes leads to grooming, the report also outlined that the Mahdia dormitory fire in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) was as a result of negligence to institute proper fire readiness, and that of the education sector to address ‘deviant’ behaviour.

“The influence of the mining culture on social relationships within communities; the vulnerability of youth, in particular, teenage female students; the influence of adults in the mining sector who groom young females, in some cases with the tacit support of family members who benefit financially; and the negligence of particular officials in fire readiness and the education sector and psychosocial readiness to deal condignly with deviant behaviour,” the CoI Chairman listed among the factors contributing to the tragedy.
The three-member Commission that included Commissioners Derrick John and Kim Kyte-Thomas was required to investigate and report on what actions were taken to provide care, medical attention, and support to the injured and deceased and their relatives, in a timely manner. Recommendations were also expected to include necessary measures to prevent a reoccurrence of such a tragedy.

These conclusions were arrived at following weeks of hearings where witnesses and key officials gave their account of the tragic incident – which claimed the lives of 20 children.
The May 21, 2023 inferno, which caught the attention of the international media, resulted in the deaths of 19 female students between the ages of 12 and 17 and a five-year-old boy, who was the son of the dorm parents. The dormitory housed students from the communities of Karisparu, El Paso, Micobie, and Chenapau, Region Eight.
Major General Singh said several inadequacies at the dormitory were uncovered including unpreparedness by the Mahdia Fire Service in emergency response and rescue and the lack of a water supply.
However, an equipped facility would not have delivered a different result, having regard to the cause of the fire and the speed with which it became an inferno.
“Based on the evidence, we concluded an individual intentionally set the fire…Despite the presence of five un-grilled doors situated in the building to provide entry and exit, this failed to impact on what unfolded on the 21st May. Such was the magnitude and speed of the blaze. This was accompanied by acceptable human failure to access the keys in those chaotic and fiery circumstances,” Singh disclosed.

He added, “In spite the many hurdles associated with this response, the members of the Mahdia Fire Service were still able to successfully effect the rescue of about 14 children.”
The Chairman concluded that “nothing could have prepared the nation” for the magnitude of this tragedy. He lauded the “exemplary” efforts of Government officials, law enforcement, aviation personnel and medical professionals in responding swiftly.

Intervention
President Ali, as he collected the report, spoke on the pressing need for systematic intervention in addressing the behavioural conduct of youths in schools. It is an issue which the Education Ministry has been grappling with.
He added that what was critically needed in Guyana is to have value assessment.
“We will have a cross section of Guyanese coming together under a presidential commission to a value assessment of the investment we are making…to demonstrate to the population how we are changing. We have to be honest with ourselves. We have to change the culture. Culture is an important part of some of the problems we are facing in our society.
“The Ministry of Education today is faced with tremendous difficulties in the behavioural pattern and changes in many schools. We now have to work and see how to incorporate a higher degree of discipline through a systematic intervention, counselling, moulding. How do we do moulding of your young people? That is an important aspect of what we have to do,” the Head of State said.
Ali called for support from the religious community as he outlined that their input was invaluable in creating responsible adults.
“The religious community must now play a more robust role in moulding our young people and the value system that we define ourselves as a country also must play this very important role.”
Families, he added, also have a significant role in moulding children, pointing out that they “sometimes contribute significantly to the problems we have. So all of this we have to address in a holistic way”.
To support this, he noted, requires an enabling environment, adding that this was why the work of the Attorney General’s chambers was very important, to determine how laws could be enacted to govern and shape the way persons behave.
“Moving forward, we have already identified another challenge…that is the boys. The Minister of Education has already made a number of recommendations already to Cabinet on how do we deal with the boys not attending school as a result of what took place and we are looking at how we address this issue in a holistic way,” the President said.
He said that technology was one of the “innovative vehicles” that were being examined to determine how to have these boys in a learning environment until a more long-term solution was implemented.
“This is sadly a tragic part of our history…we have to mark this unfortunately as part of us now, part of our country and we have to mark it with a commitment of doing everything to prevent such a recurrence, including behavioural change. Parents must understand that there is something called tough love. The love may not be realised today, but 10 years from now, they (the children) will realise that it was actually love. We have to address this behavioural challenge that confronts us. I believe if enough example is shown by our men and women in uniform, that it can translate into positive outcome in our school system. We have to utilise the talent we have in our Joint Services to be part of this change by more community-oriented strategies,” the Head of State said.

Recommendations
He assured that the Government would do all it could to integrate the recommendations of the Commission.
“We are going to continue to do all we can and I want to assure the Commission that your recommendations and your output here is critically integrated. But wherever there is still room for the further integration of your recommendations, you can rest assured that the Minister of Education, the Cabinet and the Government will be incorporating those recommendations,” Ali said.
At the time of the fire, there were 56 females and a five-year-old boy inside. The remaining students had gone home for the weekend. The dormitory’s 26 windows were heavily grilled and the five doors were locked when the fire broke out.
According to the surviving female students, they were awakened from sleep by screams, and upon checking, they saw fire and smoke in the bathroom area. The fire quickly spread in the building, causing several students to receive burns to their bodies and to suffer smoke inhalation, while several managed to escape.
A 15-year-old girl was charged in June with 20 counts of murder for the arson. She has since been detained at a juvenile holding facility. She was charged with the murders of Tracil Thomas; Lisa Roberts; Delicia Edwards; Lorita Williams; Natalie Bellarmine; Arriana Edwards; Cleoma Simon; Subrina John; Martha Dandrade; Loreen Evans; Belnisa Evans; Mary Dandrade; Omerfia Edwin; Nickleen Robinson; Sherina Daniels; Eulander Carter; Andrea Roberts; Bibi Rita Jeffrey, and five-year-old Adanye Jerome.