Businessman Kian Jabour, along with other concerned citizens, yesterday staged a protest outside the Office of the President (OP) demanding that the accountable ministers of government step down until the promised Commission of Inquiry completes its probe into the fire at Mahdia on the 21st May that claimed the lives of 19 children.
The protest started about 11:27 am and lasted for more than an hour. Jabour, also a senior member of A New and United Guyana (ANUG), said that the protests will continue every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 11 am to 1 pm in front of OP until the citizens’ demands are met.
Jabour, who spoke with Stabroek News, said that there was a catastrophic failure to implement systems and protocols and importantly, emergency mechanisms. Jabour said what was noticeably absent throughout the process, from last Sunday to present, was any admission of accountability from the government – nobody was taking responsibility for the tragedy. He iterated that a fire can start from any source – an act of nature, negligence, malicious means, but since the fire occurred in a public dorm, it was the state’s responsibility to ensure that there were safety measures in place to protect the children, as he made reference to his placard which read, “It is not the fire that killed our children. It’s the fact that they could not escape nor had the tools to protect themselves.”
Jabour stressed that it was the state’s responsibility to uphold all building and fire codes, therefore, the responsibility for the tragedy falls squarely on the shoulders of the government. Jabour called out Pauline Sukhai, Minister of Amerindians Affairs (whose portfolio includes responsibility for the Amerindian population and their affairs), Priya Manickchand, the Minister of Education (it was a school dorm that was involved), Nigel Dharamlall, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development (under whose ministry the administration of Region Eight, including the education sector, falls under), and Robeson Benn, Minister of Home Affairs (no back up water source when the fire tender had run empty). It was this neglect to ensure that the dorm was outfitted with all fire safety tools that caused the children to perish as they could not get out of the building to escape the fire, Jabour emphasised.
Jabour said he hopes that the Mahdia tragedy will spur more people to speak out on the matter of accountability. He said that “things need to be fixed moving forward”, but those responsible have to move or be fired and be replaced with capable people. He is also calling for the inquiry to be truly independent and beyond any governmental involvement. He noted that the government itself will be under investigation by the Commission of Inquiry (CoI).
Stabroek News spoke with other protestors, including Ramona Hinds, who said it was her first protest and she was there along with her husband and grandson to give support to her late twin cousins who perished in the fire. Hinds said that the government should not blame the teenager who caused the fire, and charging the teen with nineteen charges was ridiculous. She said she needs justice, as the Minister of Education, the dorm’s mother and other government officials ought to be removed.
Meanwhile, Eeusa Shaheed, another concerned citizen and member of ANUG said that as long as the protest is ongoing, he will be there to hold Ministers Benn and Sukhai accountable for the deaths of the nineteen children. Shaheed said that most persons are trying to put the blame on the teen who allegedly started the fire but the fire could have started at any time.
Shaheed also said that he would like the CoI to be held independently and the ministers to step down for now until it is completed.
