–          Home Affairs Minister says

IN commemoration of the one-year anniversary of the devastating Mahdia Fire, Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, declared May 21 as “Fire Victims Awareness Day” to raise awareness about the incident and honour the lives lost, especially the 20 children.

The Minister made this disclosure as he delivered remarks at the Guyana Fire Service’s Senior Officers Conference which was held at the Guyana Police Force Annex, Eve Leary.
According to Benn, the idea came just a few days ago to have, on the day of the Mahdia tragedy, observances at all fire stations, “Fire Victims Awareness Day.”
“On that day we should have pictures or mementoes at a place where we could go and remember them,” he said.

Against this backdrop, he told the officers present that this day should also be used as a day to reinstall and remind them of their mission, tasks and role as fire officers across the country.
Earlier this year, when President Dr Irfaan Ali was presented with the official report from the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Mahdia dormitory fire, he mentioned plans for a proper memorial in remembrance of the lives lost in the tragic incident.

At that time the Head of State said that the education minister would engage with the Private sector to pool resources for the memorial.
The President also noted that they have commissioned various artists to come up with a representation of what this memorial should be as a memorial of this nature is one that is very important.

Guyana was plunged into mourning on May 22, 2023, after a fire which authorities said was set maliciously ravaged the girls’ dormitory in Mahdia. The dorm at the time housed children from the communities of Karisparu, El Paso, Micobie and Chanapau.

Initially, 18 girls from the dorm and the five-year-old son of the ‘dorm mother and father’ perished in the fire and subsequently another student who was injured in the fire succumbed to injuries days later.