When Belmopan Police roughed up and arrested elected Collet Area Representative Patrick Faber they didn't only jail a member of the National Assembly. Faber is a teacher and the vice principal at Anglican Cathedral College. Some students didn't take to the way the riot squad manhandled their teacher too well and this morning that anger boiled over when they reported to school and declared a strike. You heard right, the students went on strike. Keith Swift reports.
Keith Swift Reporting,
Rebellious fourth form students at Anglican Cathedral College effectively took control of the campus this morning when they defiantly declared that they were striking.
Student #1,
"We just di strike 'cause we noh like whe do Mr. Faber and we noh wah haftu hurt Musa he. Just we wah strike."
Dyke Sutherland, 4th form Student
"What are you seeing? Are you seeing anyone in class? I guess not so I guess this means of course we're striking."
Student #2,
"I wah stand up and mek Belizeans know that we can't take this thing no more."
Pastor Novelo, 4th form Student
"We're trying to get the students out to go to the Battlefield Park because of the situation with what happened yesterday with our vice principal. That wasn't necessary. A lot of the students want to come out but they're afraid."
Amelia Sutherland, 4th form Student
"We just want to take a stand for what we think is right 'cause obviously the teachers don't want to do nothing right and according to what they are telling us it is our own will. Actually we are the future. They have already been through it and its us who will be left to go through with the consequences. Whatever happens we will have to live with it so we are trying to fight for what we think is right. All we are fighting for is rights and freedom."
The call for strike created chaos on the campus. Some classrooms were empty, the classrooms that had students - had no teachers. The majority of students could be found idling on the verandah, chilling in the yard, and loitering on the street; students were anywhere but their classrooms.
Pastor Novelo,
"For us to come to school we need facilities such as the bathroom where we don't have water and for example that classroom is a very hot one and the fans they don't work. We don't have current and we don't have water. When you go to use the bathroom its not right. We are trying to get the students to come out. We see what's going on in our country and we need to do something about it now."
Kevin Brown, 4th form Student
"Everybody just fed up. Everybody wants to go home but a lot of people are reluctant; they are afraid."
Keith Swift,
Where are your teachers?
Kevin Brown,
"I don't know. It's been like this since Monday."
Keith Swift,
So what have you been doing at school?
Kevin Brown,
"Well we get some classes sometime but to tell you the truth I haven't learnt anything the whole of this week. I want to go home because nothing is going on here. I probably will go home and try study and something."
Adriana Hernandez, 4th form Student
"We noh got no water, teachers aren't teaching, and we noh like what they are doing with Mr. Faber. They are giving us the okay but some of them don't want to walk out. Well I am walking out."
The students say the breaking point was these images of Patrick Faber being manhandled by police yesterday. It hit close to home at ACC because in addition to being a member of the House of Representatives, Faber is the vice-principal here at ACC.
Student #2,
"I see how they roughed up Mr. Faber and that was not supposed to happen."
Kevin Brown,
"You see how they tear up my vice principal? You see how he get…you know what, I noh got no comment. I done."
They were frustrated yes but the actions of these high school students were clearly out of the control of school teachers and management who tried failingly to return order on the campus. Joesph Stamp said teachers tried but failed to calm down the students.
Joseph Stamp, ACC Teacher
"The students are organizing a walkout."
Keith Swift,
You guys are just going to standby and let them walkout?
Joseph Stamp,
"Well Keith we're in classrooms telling the students to remain in the classrooms and they are still walking out. Mr. Requena has given us orders to keep them in the classrooms. They are not doing that. They are walking out."
Keith Swift,
And they say the teachers aren't teaching and they are basically sitting in the classrooms by themselves.
Joseph Stamp,
"Well I am not sure because we're teaching Keith. We're teaching but you can't teach a class when students are moving around yelling 'walk out.' We're doing the best we can. We're teaching classes. I was teaching my class and other students are coming around yelling walkout so everybody is doing the best they can."
The best probably wasn't good enough as the fourth form students scored a victory when at 10:30 - after two hours - they was a mass exodus of students down Albert Street.
7NEWS spoke to ACC's Principal Ismael Requena on the campus this morning. He refused to talk on camera but assured us he was doing everything to settle the problem. That we assume was done around 10:30 when the militant students were sent home. No word on whether or not they will be disciplined when school resumes on Tuesday. Most of the students who called the strike were fourth formers who are supposed to sit their diploma exams next week.
