Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 06/Oct 10:02

San Fernando East teachers defend school: Broken system failed Mariah

TEACHERS at San Fernando East Secondary say Form Three student Mariah Seenath, who was found murdered in a bushy track in Ste Madeleine on September 20, never wanted to be separated from her two younger siblings. Mariah lived with her father Marlon Seenath, but she would spend nights at her grandmother's house nearby. It was while walking through the track after leaving her school uniform to soak at her father's house, that she was attacked and killed. The autopsy showed she died from blunt force trauma. Despite the squalor of her living conditions, teachers say Mariah, 13, was always a bright spark, shining on the school's football team and in the Drama Club. She also did not let the obvious poverty she came from limit her goals. Teachers said they had done their best to help Mariah and other students who came from humble beginnings, achieve their dreams. Teachers and members of the community will host a candlelight procession in her honour on October 11, at 5.30 pm, beginning at Golconda junction, near Chiney's Wrecking Service. In an interview with Newsday on October 5, one teacher, fighting back tears, said the school was being unfairly blamed for not doing enough to save Mariah. He said teachers were aware – to a point – about the plight faced by Mariah. "We knew to a certain extent at the school of Mariah's circumstances, but I'll tell you this – if we were going to go, just based on the living conditions, half of the children in San Fernando would be in Children's Authority. And Mariah never wanted to be separated from her two little sisters." [caption id="attachment_1182628" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Seeranie Jagan, the grandmother of Mariah Seenath, gets emotional during a balloon-release ceremony at San Fernando East Secondary School on September 26. - Photo by Innis Francis[/caption] He said there have been allegations made about the care at some state institutions for children and there were questions about whether children were being abused there as well. He said the entire country had failed Mariah and many other victims."So all those who want to point fingers and say the school didn't do this and that, they're not in the school system. They don't understand. They don't understand how long things take. "They don't understand that your guidance counsellor and social worker are sharing among schools. And if you have 50 cases a term, when you go get (a response), in a year's time? "So it's very easy for a lot of people to talk and say all kinds of things about the school, but they're not aware how broken the system is." 'Heaven and hell 100m apart' He said because of the crime situation today, many people live in a bubble, fully isolated from the problems right around them. "Where Mariah's living, there are very affluent houses, boy. But you see, we live in a time where generally in Trinidad, neighbour don't know neighbour again because of the crime situation. Everybody keeps to themselves, you understand? So it's not just a symptom of where Mariah was. "Nobody cares to know nobody because everybody's afraid to find out things now, you know? If you would have visited the area, less than a hundred metres, it's like heaven and hell. If you see the houses, and then we walk up in the back, it's real squalor." He urged parents to put aside whatever their differences they have and embrace the responsibility of taking care of their children. He said that primary responsibility should not fall on grandparents, relatives and others. "Some of the teachers are not taking it well at all, because plenty of teachers go beyond and above the duty to help so many children. There is only so much we could do. Many teachers have their own children and families too." Another teacher, speaking on condition of anonymity, said their are many students who come from difficult background, but staff "try our best to make school their haven and report when needed to the relevant authorities." She said there is a clothing and textile teacher who has become the "unofficial mummy" in school to help fix torn clothing of affected students. She said many teachers dip into their pockets to help students who do not have money to travel home. "We know as a community we go above and beyond and we don't brag about it...It's disheartening that we are painted as though we failed Mariah without saying what more we were supposed to do."   The post San Fernando East teachers defend school: Broken system failed Mariah appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.