IN the wake of the deadly fire at the Mahdia Secondary School female dormitory, President, Dr Irfaan Ali, has declared three days of national mourning and has said that the national flag will be flown at half-staff at all public buildings in honour of the children who lost their lives.

“Today is one of the saddest days of my life as President. It is a day that I wished never occurred,” the Head of State said after speaking with parents, guardians, and relatives of the 19 victims.
During a live update to the nation on Monday, President Ali said that government is fully committed to assisting those affected by this heartbreaking incident and will work tirelessly to ensure that they receive the necessary care and assistance during this difficult time.
“I’m committing, as I have done to the family members already, our full, unconditional, unhindered support for the families and these children; whether it be medical, social, counselling, financial, transportation, accommodation- whatever the form of support required, the state will provide that support to the families, to the children,” the President said while in Mahdia.

When the news broke in the wee hours of Monday morning, President Ali immediately rushed to the Eugene F. Correia International Airport at Ogle where he coordinated an emergency plan of action. He also was on hand to witness the arrival of some of the seriously injured children.

He later travelled to Mahdia where he met Prime Minister, Brigadier (retd) Mark Phillips; Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand and Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn. The heads of the joint services were also present.
“There are no words that can describe this magnitude of pain that our brothers and sisters are going through today…We wish this day had never occurred… This is a pain we must carry as a nation and as a family. It is a pain we must share together and support in our prayers,” President Ali said.

He added that he is committed to bringing justice to the victims’ families and as such a technical task force led by Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier Omar Khan and a Cabinet task force led by the Prime Minister, will be established.
He announced Monday that the government was seeking regional and international assistance to conduct DNA tests on several of the bodies to confirm their identities.

In keeping with the President’s announcement, the national flag was flown at half-staff at all public buildings from 16:00hrs on Monday. This will continue for three days.
“I ask that as a nation we utilise the next three days as three days of prayers for these children, their families and the community,” he said.

President Ali said that “every conceivable action that is required of the government” will be taken to ease the pain.
“We want to assure you, all of you, that no efforts will be spared. Every conceivable help, every conceivable assistance, every conceivable action that is required of the government we will do; we will support, and we will ensure that we are with you not only today but through this difficult path ahead,” he said.

He explained that the Ministry of Education is working on the reprogramming of all educational requirements, which include the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) examinations that some of the children who have lost their lives and others at the school are currently writing.
“As a family we will have to bond together. We will have to support each other through faith and patience, we will have to persevere,” Dr Ali said.