KINGSTON, Jamaica -The Association of Caribbean Social Work Educators (ACSWE) has described as “unimaginable” the fire that engulfed the dormitory of the Mahdia Secondary School in Guyana on Monday, killing 19 students and injuring several others.
Charred remains of the building destroyed by Monday morning blaze“There are no words to explain this disaster or offer consolation or redress. We can only hope that when the answers to the questions about this tragedy come, however uncomfortable, the lessons learned and actions taken will redound to the long-term benefit of the communities impacted and all Guyana,” ACSWE said in a statement.
The Guyana police say they will send a file to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) on Wednesday after indicating that a female student may have played a role in setting the fire to the building that housed female students from Mahdia, Campbelltown, Micobie, El Paso and several other villages in the North Pakaraimas in Region 8
In a statement, the police said that the investigations so far “reveal that a female student is suspected of having set the devastating fire because her cellular phone was taken away by the Dorm’s mother and a teacher”
It said that at the time of the fire, there were 57 female students in the one-flat concrete building measuring about 100 feet by 40 feet, with several windows, all grilled, and with five doors.
President Dr. Irfaan Ali said DNA samples from the bodies of the unidentified victims will be sent to the Mount Sinai laboratory in New York and test results will be back here on Friday.
ACSWE interim president, Dr. Karene Nathaniel- DeCaires, said as a Caribbean Social Work educator, she has “had priceless opportunities to engage with social workers and students from Guyana.
“I am always inspired and humbled by their willingness to learn and the depth of personal investment in their work and study. I recalled their passion, and felt the pain that is bound to be gripping the profession still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There is no blueprint for practice in this kind of crisis. As educators we can feel impotent and redundant when we consider the onslaught of human and social catastrophe that seems to be characteristic of this time in history, and the world that we are tasked with preparing Gen Z social work practitioners to ‘live’ in.”
Nathaniel- DeCaires said, however, “we forge forward in confidence, skillfully adjusting and adapting to the demands of the new era, while keeping our eyes fixed on the vision of a socially-just Caribbean and beyond.
“I fervently believe that professional Social Workers in Guyana and across the region have the knowledge, skills, temperament, and heart to chart the course for recovery for the families and communities in crisis using meaningful interventions, and they are fit for purpose.”
She said that there is “no better time for Caribbean Social Work to stake its claim on social assistance, action, reform and justice for vulnerable and marginalized populations.
“On behalf of the Association of Caribbean Social Work Educators and The North American and Caribbean Association of Schools of Social Work, I join hands and hearts with the Social Work community in Guyana and extend our boundless support for the challenging work that lies before us all. May the divinities of the Universe align in your favor, and make your path clear.”
The Guyana government has already said that a flower laying ceremony will be held at the Mahdia hostel on Wednesday and that the country’s Flag raising ceremony that had been scheduled for Thursday night as part of the Independence celebrations, will now be converted into a night of prayer and remembrance for the children who perished in the fire.
“This independence will now be dedicated through prayer and remembrance to these our beautiful children of Guyana,” President Ali said.
