I THINK these past two weeks have been heavy for us all. The death of 20 children is not something that we can be unaffected by, especially when their deaths were so heartbreaking. I can say that it has certainly been an overwhelmingly emotional period for me, since I’ve been in Mahdia, Karisparu, and other far-flung communities from where the girls hailed, and in the hospitals.

I know that we’re still thinking about these families and the support that can be provided. I know we will be thinking about them and this support for a long time. But all that also forces me to reflect on the structural difficulties by which they are confronted. These difficulties cannot be ignored when we think about what support we have to provide to the families and the communities.

First, the geography of the region is a huge challenge. Because a majority of our Indigenous communities occupy areas in the forested and/ or remote hinterland communities, their access to education and other resources and/ or opportunities has been limited. Karisparu, for example, is accessible only by helicopter or all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). The community does not have internet connectivity and during the two days I spent there, I had no clue from where they get electricity. That’s why the students leave their far-flung communities and stay in the dorms; otherwise, I don’t know how they would advance their studies.

Yes, education should be easily accessible by all, but our thinking, perhaps since time immemorial, has been to find the most suitable solutions given the resources on hand. Instead of building schools everywhere and searching high and low for teachers to teach in those schools, the alternative seems to be constructing schools in highly-populated areas that are more accessible and help children attend those schools (by housing them in dorms, for example, and providing other support). Further, last year I reported on the Education Minister Priya Manickchand’s comments that Region Eight in particular is a challenging place to improve education in the progressive ways her ministry wants to. Geography remains a huge consideration.

So alternatives such as these have to be considered to help push education.

I think these things are understandable, but when tragedy strikes, it forces us to rethink all that we have been doing and maybe, disregard whatever rationale on which we once relied. It comes as no surprise to me that President, Dr Irfaan Ali publicly said that the government will consider building schools in some of the far-flung areas from where the students hail.

Economic inequalities are another challenge and factor to consider. Employment opportunities are not necessarily abundant in these remote communities. Many migrate to more populated centres in search of those opportunities and find ways to send support back into their communities, be it goods or money. That reality then impacts how much is invested into children’s education, for example, and what infrastructure that community can maintain for the benefit of its residents. I think if support to these families and communities were to be long-lasting, it should include some ways of helping to empower them economically. That could include lending farming support for them to engage in larger-scale farming or building the infrastructure needed to help them create (or expand) their ventures. It should also include training opportunities for those desirous of pursuing higher-level studies.

There’s much more to consider in the wake of this tragic event. Shortcomings in the management of public facilities and the care of these students, for example, may be unearthed when the promised Commission of Inquiry is conducted. For now, I hope the families get the support they need and that we all give them the space to cope as they see fit.

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