SEVERAL inmates of the New Opportunity Corps are reportedly set to make court appearances on Monday to face several charges — arson, aiding and abetting, assault, indecent language, and damage to property, among others. The facility is also reportedly back under the control of the lawful authorities, and things seem to be moving smoothly.
The Guyana Chronicle was informed that police are maintaining a strategic presence on the ground, and are patrolling the facility at unscheduled times.
A Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport team, which included Minister Dr. Frank Anthony, Permanent Secretary Alfred King, and Assistant Director of Youth, Devanand Ramdatt, met on Friday with male and female inmates of the New Opportunity Corps at Onderneeming, Essequibo Coast, and discussed issues affecting the inmates.
The inmates adopted a vocal and selectively` tight-lipped approach to some of the issues affecting them. While the boys of the facility spoke on several issues, they were not as vocal as the female students, with whom the team met prior to meeting the boys.
The male inmates spoke of a need for review of some of the dishes on the daily food menu, and whether kitchen staffers were actually preparing meals in accordance with the guide. They, however, made it clear to Minister Anthony that the recent upsurge at the facility had nothing to do with their meals, after he had questioned them to that effect.
During the interaction, they also asked to be put in place systems by which they could somehow be rewarded for the amount of chores they do on the premises.
Some hold the view that those who give little or no trouble to members of staff should also be rewarded.
They were, however, reminded that they live in a correctional facility; and as what obtains in their homes, the facility would have chores that need to be done.
During discussions with the ministerial team, the youngest age group of boys at the facility called on the team to reinforce an already existing “prefect” system, which exists in their dormitory. They told the Anthony team that the system is working well for them, and they see no reason why it could not work for the other dormitories within the complex.
Director of Youth, Devanand Ramdatt, responded that the very dorm with the “prefect system” is one of the better kept, maintained and disciplined dorms on the premises. He said the children in that dorm take turns in acting as prefects, and there have been moves to implement the same system in some of the other dorms, but sometimes those moves become problematic.
The ministry’s team heard stories of older boys and, in some cases, boys who dwell in the same dorms, taking advantage of others by fighting, picking unnecessary trouble, and acting as bullies — much to the annoyance of the greater number of inmates.
This group of youngsters also made a pitch for the permanent secretary to use his influence in lobbying for the rules of the facility to be somewhat relaxed.
One student said that sometimes it becomes very unfair and very disconcerting when everyone on the premises and in dorms has to be confined to one location because of the actions of a mere small group of inmates.
The PS, however, reminded them of the old saying: “Peter pays for Paul, and Paul pays for all”. They where, nevertheless, again reminded that their stay at the facility was not voluntary, and that their presence at the NOC was to ensure that they achieve some amount of skill and self-discipline, since they are being fashioned to contribute positively to the society when they leave the NOC.
Also speaking on Friday with the young men was Deputy Commander of Police ‘G’ Division, Irving Trotz, who worked along with the minister and his team throughout the visit. Trotz participated in a meeting that was held between the ministry officials and the staff of the NOC wherein several issues were raised.
In addressing the boys, the officer assured them that should they encounter any problems at the facility and have difficulty sharing same with the members of staff, they could call him and he would make himself available to meet with them.
He informed them that he passes the NOC on a daily basis on his way to and from work, and all they had to do was indicate to one of the teachers or trainers that they wanted to meet with him.
He told the boys that the infrastructure at the NOC belongs to the state, and was there to ensure their comfort and that of every other child that finds his or herself there in the future; and as such, should be preserved for the enjoyment of those also.
After meeting with the boys, the MCYS team made its way over to the female dorms, where the atmosphere was a bit more tense and vocal. There the officials were really made aware of some of the things that went wrong at the facility, and which might have contributed to the unrest which was not allowed to last longer than two days, much to the disappointment of some of the inmates.
The first cause of concern for the girls was the restriction that had been placed on their movements. Despite their movements being curtailed to facilitate the investigation of the police and the fire service, the ladies were not too pleased with the administration for supporting the move.
Shortly after that interaction, a young woman decided to ventilate  the issues contributing to the unrest that saw two buildings in the complex being torched, and several inmates being arrested and detained.
While the boys contended that the unrest had nothing to do with food at the facility, the girls declared plaintively that the actions of the inmates were not triggered by any actions of the members of staff. The young ladies opined that what could very well be the root cause of the entire two-day episode were issues among inmates themselves.
While some related that they have not been of their best  behaviour recently, there were those who did not take blame for anything that went wrong on the night of August 22, and again on August 23, which triggered the emergency trip of the minister and the permanent secretary of his ministry.
The girls spoke of divisions among themselves, and of stealing each other’s belongings. Some young ladies related that there are groups of girls who continuously invade the privacy of other girls, and when this is discovered, it triggers fights among them.
A particular group of girls was identified as bullies who prey on the weaknesses of the other girls, but are not often reported to the staff because victims fear another beating which usually accompanies reporting the group.
One girl said that at first, like the bullies, she enjoyed beating up on the weaker girls; but recently she stopped and has been trying to curtail her bad behaviour. She told the ministerial team that she has now become a target of the bullies.
It was during those disclosures that the team was made aware of the entire ordeal of August 22 and 23. The women said that after the boys broke out of their dorms on the night of the 22nd, some of them made their way over to the female dorms and began breaking the females out.
They said that some girls were released while others were left inside their dorms. Those who made their way out of the dorm ended up on the roof of the buildings in the female dorm yard.
It is unclear how inmates got hold of deadly weapons, but the team was told of females and males who were able to make their way on top of the roof of the female dorm, where they began banging the zinc sheets with cutlasses and other objects.
One student opined that it was the group of “bad girls’ who were attempting to gain entry into a particular dorm with intention to settle scores with others with whom they had differences.
It was reported that the females of Dorm 3 are the ones responsible for the setting of a fire to their own dorm. According to a young lady, one of the girls enquired about a thin mattress, and after none of the beds seemed to be thin enough to start a fire quickly, she then used a newspaper that was in the dorm and lit the fire to a piece of mattress that was torn.
The young lady said that initially the girls wanted to burn the building from the entrance, but later dragged a mattress from one of the beds and lit it in the middle of one of the dorms, causing the conflagration.
After listening to the girls who spoke of more wrongdoings in the female dormitory especially, and the names of several boys who aided the process, the police made a few arrests.
What the girls did not mention was that most of the boys fingered in the uprising were already in police custody.
Culture Minister Dr. Frank Anthony said the entire security arrangement at the facility was being reviewed in light of the recent developments. He firstly declared that the movements of all inmates will be restricted to specific sections of the complex, and those movements would be highly supervised. The minister added that the new move would remain in effect until the administration of the facility and the police are comfortable that the situation has returned to normalcy.
The Deputy Police Commander of ‘G’ Division informed the media that the police would be maintaining a presence at the facility, and this will remain until normalcy is restored. Asked about the actual work of the police while on the premises, the deputy commander said that the police will be keeping a keen eye out for any suspicious movements within the facility, be it in dorms or around the compound.
Trotz said the aim of the police is to ensure that every single inmate and worker as well as other persons within the perimeters of the New Opportunity Corps is safe and protected.
The minister said that in discussion with the staff after his arrival at the facility, they expressed concerns for their safety after the events of the previous night. Dr. Anthony said that he understood how the staffers were feeling, since they were only human. He said that the staffers also raised concerns about the level of security who man the facility’s gates, and the militancy of those personnel.
Dr. Anthony assured the staff that the security will be engaged and made aware of the concerns of the staff. In addition, he said that the security firm would be engaged at a higher level, since Minister Anthony himself said that he was not pleased with some of the things he observed while on the premises on Friday.
The minister said that a team will be making rounds through the facility and identifying areas that needed some attention, security wise. He said that once those are identified, they would be immediately corrected.
By mid-afternoon on Friday, several doors, windows and other areas of the facility had already been repaired, upgraded and in some cases replaced.
On Friday, Regional Chairman Parmanand Persaud fired one of the guards from the facility and ordered that he be replaced by a more competent member of the said service. Mr. Parmanand Persaud had joined the minister and his team at Charity and accompanied them to the facility through the day’s activities and interactions.
On Friday minister Anthony said that his ministry will be rebuilding the facilities that were destroyed by the fire and refurnished with the necessary items that will make them complete. He however added that it will depend on the monies that are available to the ministry and after a survey has been conducted to determine what needs to be done.
He said that the engineers will have to access the two structures to se their worth and if any can be used by just patching or if there will be need for any of them to be replaced completely. He did say that the sewing room will need to be replaced since it was completely damaged.
He also spoke of plans to relocate the structure from where it stood prior to the fire.
Meanwhile, the female dorm it was noted, will not necessarily have to be completely replaced. The building was a two-flat,wooden one  on the upper flat and clay bricks on the lower flat. The minister said that it is likely that the debris will be removed and the top reconstructed while minimal work will be carried out on the lower flat.
He however cautioned that the assertion was just his opinion, but if when checked by the contractor it is found that the building is unsafe for the children and needs to be completely replaced then that would be done.
The regional administration and the fire service had committed to removing the debris and pulling down the ash-like woods of the sewing room structure. They had indicated that the exercise would have commenced sometime yesterday.
Meanwhile, in light of the recent upsurge at the New Opportunity Corps, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Culture, Youth and Sport Alfred King, under whose ministry the NOC falls, reminded that the facility while seen by many as a children’s prison is in fact an open-door correctional facility.
The absence of a huge fence with barbed wires and armed guards around the perimeter of the facility speaks to the liberty and human environment in which  the children dwell, the Permanent Secretary told members of the media on Friday. He was however quick to point out that despite the liberty the children enjoy from time to time, this is done with monitoring and limits.
King stated that while the children are taken to the facilities for various abnormal activities that they may have found themselves in, the New Opportunity Corps allows the inmates supervised liberty and an opportunity to be involved in normal children activities and take up trades since they have to be reintegrated into the society. It is in preparation for that integrated purpose and process that inmates are exposed to many avenues that help them to see the outside world in a better light and how they can contribute to it positively and the NOC continues to open itself to partners who will help in the process.
There are some  children of the New Opportunity Corps who attend academic classes outside of the facility, while others learn trades which are conducted on the premises. The trade shops on the complex offer the inmates the same kind of training that is taught at the Government Technical Institutes. Upon successfully completing their courses and time at the facility, they are issued with certificates that could see them furthering those skills and studies at the KURU KURU Training College.
The Permanent Secretary said that, recently, some of the students have excelled at their various academic examinations, as reflected in their report cards.