Was Anyone Culpable for Gabriel’s Death?

While many city residents have taken to Facebook and other platforms to share their opinions on who is to blame for Gabriel’s death, the investigation is still ongoing, according to Minister Fonseca. He emphasized that the Ministry carefully selects school wardens who are equipped to handle children with special needs. Fonseca also highlighted Stella Maris’s impressive track record, noting that the institution has served Belize exceptionally well for decades and will continue to do so.

 

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education

“Stella Maris School, I can assure you, and I’m sure the Belizean people have a long, long history with Stella Maris School. It goes back to my childhood. That’s a school that has served this country exceedingly well. We have very well-trained teachers at Stella Maris School. We have a good principal. The entire team there, we have good – I know them personally. I know all of them, the school wardens, I know, care deeply about these children. The teachers care very deeply about these children, so I want to encourage the Belizean people to withhold judgment until we have a final report on this matter.  The principal and staff and representatives of the ministry will have a meeting with –  after everything is settled with Pablo and he’s laid to rest – a meeting with the school community, the parents and everybody to answer all of their questions, to respond to all of their concerns, and to address them, so that they feel very secure and comfortable, sending their children there. We tried to carefully select school wardens who, we think were mature and understood and caring and patient and understood the importance of that responsibility. Of course, the entire staff, as I said, are responsible for the care of these children. They watched them very carefully, very closely. This was a tragic, unfortunate accident, but as I said, that’s why we brought in the police. Young Pablo died, so there’s an investigation taking place.”