Arabic-speaking students at Larnaca’s Vergina Lyceum peacefully returned to school yesterday, following a brawl last week between Greek Cypriot and Palestinian pupils which left four children with minor injuries.
The high school was turned into a battleground last Wednesday when pupils from as-yet-unnamed other schools joined forces with around 100 of the Lyceum’s children to launch an apparently unprovoked attack against around 15 of their Arabic-speaking classmates.
The fracas was said to be connected to a recent attack by Palestinian refugees on Larnaca’s welfare office for delaying their benefit cheques, resulting in an intervening policeman being injured.
Following the school violence, it was decided that Arabic-speaking children should stay home until tempers cooled and resume classes yesterday.
Out of the school’s 28 Palestinian students, 15 from fourth and sixth grades rejoined classes yesterday, while 13 pupils from fifth grade continued to be absent as they are on a work placement week with the rest of their Greek Cypriot classmates.
Ministry of Education Andreas Demetriou expressed his hope that the school situation was now back on an even keel.
“I think we’re back to normal, and I hope this will last,” he said yesterday.
Some Greek Cypriot students last week had also abstained from classes following the trouble, initially in protest over what they described as unfair blame directed at them for the fracas, and thereafter because of a warning – since proven false – posted on social networking site Facebook that they would come under attack.
Representatives of the Palestinian Authority arrived at Vergina Lyceum yesterday in order to hold further discussions on the situation and to offer their support for the smooth-running of the school.
They also pledged to continue to cooperate with Vergina Lyceum’s students, teachers, parents’ association and members of the Education Ministry’s intervention unit.
Six students – one Palestinian and five Greek Cypriot students – have been charged for the clashes.
The Education Ministry has announced that intensive Greek language lessons for foreign pupils at Vergina Lyceum are to begin in two weeks.
