Hinting at plans for a full-fledged commission of inquiry into the deaths of 19 children at Mahdia, President Irfaan Ali last night said the families of the victims will be compensated by the state for their loss.
“We have made a commitment that when we get through this period that the issue of compensation that was raised by every single family, will be spoken to directly and this need will be responded to…” Ali disclosed.
His announcement was made while he provided an update on the tragic Mahdia Secondary School dormitory fire last Sunday.
Speaking from Lethem, where he had travelled for the country’s 57th Independence anniversary observance, President Ali said his government is working in the interest of all the families and children.
The president added that the country has a responsibility to do better for the children.
He noted that the country will have to examine the impacts the tragedy would have had on a child’s mental health.
The President stated that they are assisting the families in every possible manner and a cabinet representative has been assigned to each family to ensure their needs are met. He also noted that support will be given to the families for as long as possible as they see the need.
Shedding light on the DNA testing of burnt remains, Ali explained that medical professionals are working to ensure the results return in a timely manner today.
Sunday night’s fire claimed the lives of twin sisters Mary and Martha Dandrade, Bibi Rita Jeffrey, Sabrina John, Loreen Evans, Belnisa Evans, Omefia Edwin, Natalie Bellarmine, Andrea Roberts, Lorita Williams, Nickleen Robinson, Sherena Daniels, Eulanda Carter, Lisa Roberts, Cleoma Simon, Tracil Thomas, and sisters Delecia Edwards and Arianna Edwards along with five-year-old Adonijah Jerome, the son of the caretaker. A number of them hailed from villages outside of Mahdia.
Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn, who was part of the team of government officials led by President Ali to Mahdia, had emphasised “There was no door which was grilled. The windows were grilled but it was wooden doors.”
“It appears in the panic to get out, with a large number of girls going towards the room in which the housemother was [time was lost]. She heard the commotion and heard them pounding on her door and when she opened the door there was this fire and her little son ran away from her and he died. She went to the door, with them around her,” the minister related from what he was told.
Approximately 10 bodies were found in the vicinity of the dorm mother’s quarters. It is likely that they were trying to get to her room.
“Where the fire started there was an area with mattresses stored… those caught alight and the fire got into the plastic type ceiling and proceeded along the roof with burning pieces falling onto beds which are of sponge, it went very quickly.”
Benn said he gathered that the housemother was caught off guard by the situation and in a panicked and frantic state as she tried to open the main door, the keys dropped twice and she had difficulty finding the right key for the lock. By that time when the door was open, the whole place was on fire. Benn clarified that while the doors to the building were not grilled they were locked from the inside.
“Yes, well is nighttime, the doors were locked and you would have had to open the doors from inside to get out, When the students went banging on the door [of the housemother] she had to open the main door,” he stated.
GPF’s Corporate Communications Unit Director, Mark Ramotar, said in a statement on Tuesday night, “Police 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 mother and a teacher.”
