HETN condemns torching of schools in Vuwani

“The burning of schools or any other building cannot solve the challenges faced by the communities. On the contrary it will further compound the existing problems within the community,” the HETN said in a statement.

The HETN called on the communities of Vuwani to find better ways of expressing their grievances, instead of putting the interest of school pupils in jeopardy. It was in the interest of the country for sanity to prevail in Vuwani. The burnt schools would haunt the community for many decades to come.

“The community of Vuwani must accept that the actions of the hooligans who come from their community are distressing – not only to the state but to the entire humanity. Their experience highlights the sad consequences of uncontrolled anger.”

The HETN had also noted the efforts of parents who sacrificed their sleep and braved the cold winds to guard the remaining schools in their villages.

“This development informs us that even in the midst of problems, we still have parents who are willing to put the education of the black child on top of the agenda. Despite the ongoing protests, such parents saw it fit to go and defend the remaining schools for the sake of their children’s future. The HETN applauds them.”

The HETN had also noted that there was a general tendency to cite “third forces for anything that goes wrong”. For instance the community leaders in Vuwani indicated that the criminal elements were the ones responsible for torching schools in the area.

“They told the nation that criminal elements hijacked their genuine protests and so on. Whether it’s true or not, only the protesters in Vuwani can tell. But the reality is that ultimately it is the entire community that will bear the brunt of the absence of schools in their area.

“The lesson that the HETN would like to send to the community of Vuwani is that after every revolution, there is evolution. It is very easy to destroy property. In fact it can take a few minutes to burn a school. But when the dust settles, reconstruction will have to take place. We trust that the community of Vuwani will appreciate the difficult task ahead with the view to engage the necessary authorities to reconstruct the schools.

“The HETN hopes that the people of Vuwani will do everything in their power to defend the remaining resources that they have and restore order, peace and stability whilst these matters above are resolved by the relevant authorities,” the statement said.