As the government proposes to move students from Union Island to St. Vincent until their campuses are repaired, Opposition Leader Godwin Friday reminded Parliament of the history of the pre-existing “temporary” schools in the country.
“What worries me regarding the plan to put the students out at Arnos Vale, or at least on the mainland, is that the government says, and the minister says, ‘Oh, it’s going to take 10 months, in this case, or a year.’ We know Girls’ High School, the students are still out at the tarmac,” the Opposition Leader said in Parliament on Thursday.
The GHS has been located in one of the two temporary schools at Arnos Vale for three years and there is no definite word on when repairs on its Richmond Hill campus will be complete.
Thomas Saunders Secondary School (TSSS) moved into the other temporary campus at the former ET Joshua Airport after the St. Vincent Grammar School moved out.
However, work on the TSSS building in Richmond Hill is yet to begin more than a year after it became vacant.
Earlier this year, yet another flea infestation drove GHS and TSSS students from the classroom at Tarmac campuses for days and it became public that TSSS had been without electricity for months.
The opposition leader reminded Parliament that the renovation of Bequia Community High School, which was to take one year, was into its third year.
“So, the history, the track record, has been that these things don’t take the time that you indicate,” Friday said.
“And when you bring youngsters 6 and 7-year-olds out of their community and have them in a different community for two years or a year and a half or whatever, that’s a big impact on their lives and their socialisation and their commitment and their attachment to their communities,” he said.
“We can’t ignore this. So … these factors have to be taken into account,” the opposition leader told Parliament.
“And for heaven’s sake, don’t make these important decisions without consulting the people in the communities that are affected.
“They’ve been through enough. They need understanding and support from us. And I know the intention is right, it’s good, but sometimes the best intentions go awry when we don’t have the right information,” Friday told Parliament.
Hurricane Beryl caused significant damage to the two primary schools and the secondary school in Union Island as it damaged or destroyed 95% of buildings in the Southern Grenadines on July 1.
About a week after the devastation, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said his government was considering moving the students and their teachers to St. Vincent, where they would attend classes in temporary schools.
The prime minister said each student would be accompanied by one parent and they would be accommodated in guest houses paid for by the government.
Friday told Parliament everyone wants what is best for the students.
“We want what is best for the community. People have been through hell. What they want is familiarity. I’m no psychologist, but I think that that helps — people around you and places around you that are familiar, that you don’t have to do a further adaptation or adjustment,” the opposition leader said.
“And so, any plan that talks about moving the students out, this has to be done in consultation with the community. I don’t know how much of that was done. It has to also be, to my mind, a last resort. All other options have to be explored before that is done.”
Southern Grenadines MP Terrance Ollivierre also expressed similar views and demanded that the government consult residents of Union Island before making a final decision.
The two opposition lawmakers had expressed similar views at a press conference held by their New Democratic Party in Kingstown the previous day.
Meanwhile, Gonsalves told Parliament that one of the challenges was that the students did not have places to live in Union Island because their homes were damaged or destroyed.
On Monday, the Office of the Prime Minister announced that Gonsalves will hold consultations with people from Union Island who were impacted by the passage of Hurricane Beryl.
A consultation will be held on Wednesday (today) at the Methodist Church Hall in Kingstown from 3 p.m. with residents of Union Island who relocated to emergency shelters and private homes in St. Vincent.
Then, on Thursday at 1 p.m., the prime minister will hold a consultation in Clifton, Union Island.
“The consultations will address issues including the government’s response to the disaster, relief, recovery, reconstruction and the scheduled reopening of schools in September,” the office of the prime minister said.
It is sad, the ordeal children go trough while politicians go around playing politics as usual. The “Thousandnair” party at the helm of a lot of wrongs and only a few rights. I wonder what his answer is to this latest revelation?