Closing the doors...

This term we were able to open our new school infirmary full time. We hired two nurses to help ease the load and to begin providing on-sight medical care to our students. A wonderful step forward for the school and just in the nick of time as our student body grows. Again and again we see that running a school of 350 is more complicated than one of 60! We are thankful for our growth and the ability to serve so many of the kids from this place.
However, sometimes good things can bring unexpected consequences. In this case, the arrival of our nursing staff has meant that sick students are seen each morning. The nurse on duty makes the decision to either admit the student to a bed in the infirmary or send the student back to class. In the evening the nurse decides whether to send the student on to the local health center, call the parents or allow the student to return to the dorm. This has been very helpful in cutting back on the number of students cutting class as well as making sure our students are getting the health care they need. As a result we have been able to crack down on class attendance by locking the dormitories when classes are in session and keep a running list of sick students. All positive changes. But from our student’s point of view, their freedom is being limited and their rights violated. In response, they have begun to break the locks off of the dorms during the day. As tension has mounted, teachers are receiving threatening notes and random rocks are being thrown at staff housing at night.
This is a culture where student riots at schools are common and a very typical way of dealing with unresolved conflict. In fact in the last few weeks, two boarding schools on the other side of the mountains have rioted. In one case the headmaster’s car was torched, in the other the headmaster was found alone and beaten to the point of being hospitalized. While we do feel somewhat protected by our “other” status, our teachers feel very vulnerable to this type of violent attack. Who can blame them? We are not that many generations removed from serious tribal conflict.
On Monday the situation continued to escalate and we began to have serious thoughts about closing the school to avoid an all out riot. Kevin began talking to our oldest students. The ones who are months away from the national A-level exams, which determine their entire future. These students have the most at stake and the potential to exert the most positive leadership. He met with them as a class, listening to their complaints, explained the administration’s concerns and implored them to think carefully about consequences and pro-active leadership. At the end of the afternoon, things were still feeling tense but potentially diffused. Unfortunately, later that night, under cover of darkness a group of students staged a riot in front of the staff housing. Rock after rock was thrown on the roof and at the windows of the staff house for more than two hours. Needless to say, our staff was pretty traumatized and fearful of what the next day and night would bring.
So on Tuesday, the whole school shut down for meetings. The students met as classes, the whole school had an assembly, the servant’s council met with the administration, the leadership team met, the staff met as a whole. Lot’s of tension was aired, lots of listening, lot’s of conversation. We were hopeful that this would lead to some cooling down, some resolution and the aversion of a student rampage. By 4:00, our students had posted lists of demands that required immediate action. They basically were in favor of no rules to limit their behavior, and no consequences for bad behavior. They were asking for the dismissal of two teachers and the unlimited use of dorms during the day at their discretion. There would be no peace until these demands were met.
With great sadness Kevin called the police and had guards posted while he called an all school assembly to dismiss the students and close the school until further notice. This was potentially the most serious time for conflict. Just before the assembly Kevin found a student carrying a broken off bench leg with a nail sticking out of the top. I don’t want to even think about the implications of that being used as a weapon.
Even now, the board of governors is in an emergency session to discuss the situation and to advise us on a way forward. In all likelihood we will call a parent’s meeting in the next few days to discuss all that has happened and to have an open forum to hear complaints, advice and talk through the next steps for re-opening the school.We are hopeful that things will cool down to the point of bringing the students back in the next two weeks. However, nothing seems to be given. We need prayer for our staff and for our students. We have been pushing our staff to be more available to our students. To care for them outside the classroom. To invest in their lives beyond academics. Will our staff be able to put aside the memories and bad feelings of the last few days and again serve these children? Will our students accept school rules and consequences or will they decide that this is too much for their pride? Will many of our good students speak out or will they remain passive? Will the middle hundred or so kids follow the ringleaders or refuse to participate in the mob mentality? Can there be reconciliation in a real way?
While the whole process is scary, sad and full of the unknown, we do feel glimmers of hope. Not through our ability to control the situation. We can’t even begin to try. Yet, this is the real education for our students. How will they solve conflict? Will they use peacemaking skills? Will they look beyond themselves and their pride to realize a greater good? Will they exert positive leadership or remain passive? None of these things are easy, and for most of our students these are all very counter-cultural. Please pray for us this week.