NOTHING has returned to normalcy in the community of Burma following that horrific accident in February that claimed the lives of six schoolchildren and their teacher.They all died by drowning after the vehicle in which they were all travelling turned turtle and ended up in a nearby trench.

On September 09, 2015, approximately seven months after the incident that shocked the country, the Guyana Chronicle learnt that the community and the relatives who were affected have still not gotten closure.
Carole Duke is the sister of Shondel Duke, 41, the teacher who was killed in the accident. She said that since her sister’s passing, the family has been trying to make life and move on, but is finding hard to do.
Carole, who was working as a sweeper-cleaner at the same school where her late sister tauight, still works there unto this day.
“After the accident, “ she said, “I use to watch to see if I see her in the classrooms, and I use to go over early. I never went with fear, because I always go with the feeling that I would see her one day teaching still.”
A ‘DEAD’ COMMUNITY

According to her, the family felt the loss even more, days before the new school term began, as Shondel was the one who would do all the purchasing of school items for the children in the family. The community as well is now “dead”, she said, and the loss of the six children is even more acute, when you look at those walking to school in the mornings. The school is located just across the road from where Shondel Duke lived.
“I see that from since the death, the community is a dead, dead community; you could know children missing from the community; you do not feel as though a school is in the community, because the number of children that use to pass you to go to school do not pass here anymore,” Carole said.
She said that while some views were expressed with respect to what really happened on that fateful day, the family has a good relationship with the entire community, including those persons who lost their children in that accident.
But deep down inside, she said, no one knows the real thoughts on their minds, given the loss they suffered. She believes that one day, the real truth will come to light with respect to what happened to her sister and those children.

PROMISING DESIGNER

Also reminiscing on the loss of a child in such tragic circumstances were Vishaa and Ronald Persaud, the parents of Martina Persaud, eight. The mother of the child said her daughter was a promising individual who wanted to be a designer and musical artiste.

“She had great potential, and now the feelings are not good at all,” Martina’s mommy said. “When you see other children going to school, it is really hard, because the other children come here every day.”
Mrs. Persaud, who operates a small general store in the community, said that she was a fixture on the parent-teacher association, but not any more. Since her daughter died, she’s visited the school a few times more but has since lost interest in going there. Everything has fallen apart for her, she said, and it is only now that the school and the community seem to be coming back together.
“She was the smallest in the home, and she was always busy and helpful. Now, like everything is lost; you can now feel the silence; it is not like before,” the woman said sadly.
The vehicle in which the children and teacher died belonged to the Persauds; they’d lent it to her to take the children to the Mashramani celebrations away from the village on that day.
Asked if she had any regrets about anything she’d done that fatal day, Mrs Persaud said:
“When I reflect on that day, my only regret is that I am the one who said to lend the teacher the car. They said they’d be back by 1:30, but they never did. I called the phone and was not getting onto her. It is because of that timing that I lent the car; and that was the biggest mistake I ever made.”
She believes that the children and the teacher were not supposed to die on that day, as she recalled driving the car from her home with her child inside, and taking it to the home of the teacher, where the other children were present. The woman said she even helped dress the children in the clothing she’’d made them, since she is into designing herself.

She’d also watched as they drove off, and recalls that they were all in high spirits; smiling brightly and waving her goodbye. It was the last she’d ever see of them.
TRYING TO COPE

Aubrey Woolford, a miner who works in ‘the interior’, lost two daughters, Azidia Fraser, six, and Atesha Woolford, 10. The man said that the family has been trying to cope and forget the incident, and while he has been able to do so a bit, sometimes he sees his children while he sleeps.
He said that his wife seems to be the most affected person, as she still has not gotten over the loss of two of her children in such unfortunate circumstances.
Asked whether he regrets sending his children on that outing, the man said he does not. He said that in January, he went to the school to have discussions with the teachers, and told them that he wanted his children to be part of each and every activity that the school has, since he never had the chance his children were having.

“We spoke specifically about the ‘Mash’ event that was coming up, and I was excited for them to take part in it, because, as a child, I never had those opportunities,” he said. “I told them I want them to be part of it, because, growing up, I never had those opportunities to participate in school activities; and that was because my mother was a single- parent, and she had me and three others. And, you know, it was not easy for her to deal with all of us,” Mr Woolford recalled fondly.
What he misses most about his two girls, he said, is that whenever he returned from ‘the interior’, they would rush to greet him at the gate, and would continue to cling onto him until he was ready to leave to head back to his job. He said the kind of relationship he had with his daughters is something he misses a lot; and that has really changed his life.
He said seeing other children going to school is really heartbreaking, as his girls always looked forward to him taking them to school, especially on the first day.

DOUBLE WHAMMY

Roberta Abel has since moved out of the community of Burma after she was struck with double tragedy after losing three of her children in that Burma Road accident. The woman, who is now living in Central Mahaicony, explained that in trying to recover from losing her three children, she remained at home for five months, and when she returned to work, she was allowed to work a few days for three weeks before the management decided to send her packing, as part of a retrenchment exercise at the Burma Rice Mill.
Justin Abel, eight, Rayden Abel, seven, and Ayesha Abel, 10, all died in the same accident on that unfortunate afternoon. According to the now unemployed woman, the fact that she is now home brings back all the memories of her children in her quiet time. She said being occupied at work was a great help in getting over the loss.
She said that the entire ordeal comes back to her now, as fresh as the day it happened. She said that she was in the community recently, but asked to leave before the children came out on the road to go to school.
“When I see children going to school, it hurt me,” she said. “When I was there to spend a night recently, I wanted to leave before the children started going to school, so I came out. This incident has changed my whole life.”
Asked whether she had any regrets regarding that day her children died, the woman said she certainly does.
“I have regrets sending my children to that event that day; I should have been the one taking them, but I decided to stay and work, so that I can make my full hours so that when I was paid on the fortnight, I would have had enough money to purchase some things I had promised all three of them,” the woman explained.
STILL EMPTY
Over at the school, the feeling of loss was very evident. The class that Shondel Duke taught was still empty, but the desks and benches were all neatly arranged, as if to accommodate students and teacher.

Headteacher, Marcia Fordyce explained that since the incident, they have received counseling for the students and themselves through the Ministry of Education, and that parents were also part of the sessions.
She said that with the exception of one case, all the other students seem to be putting the pieces together, but one child continues to ask for his teacher, and the child who was in the same class with him, but perished in the accident.
The Guyana Chronicle was told that the child who is yet to fully recover has displayed extreme signs of emotion associated with the loss. However, in this September term, there has been some improvement in the child’s behaviour.
AFTERMATH
After the incident at Burma Road, most of the children stayed away from school, and only began returning fully for the reopening in September.
We were told that the headteacher and another teacher at the school usually speak about the now dead teacher, but this is not done in the presence of the students.
They reminded that while Teacher Duke was around, there was never a dull moment. She was also the one who would mobilize the children to get involved in extra-curricular activities, particularly national events.
Another teacher who spoke with the Chronicle said that life at the school is now returning to normalcy but it will still take some time. No one at the school really ventures into the classroom that Shondel Duke taught in while she was alive.
However, ironically, one day before we visited the school a teacher had cause to enter that classroom to take some of the students since the chalkboard in another room was already filled with work.
The Education Ministry was to return to have a final counseling session with the children but that is yet to be conducted and the teachers have not heard anything in that regard.
Since the incident, there has been no new additions to the roll, while at least three children were transferred to a school outside the community since they continued to ask for their now dead teacher and would cry from time to time.

By Leroy Smith