AROUND 15 pupils yesterday demonstrated outside the Dhekelia police station after the primary school inside the British base closed down.
The school was used for the children of the 91 asylum seekers who washed up on the sovereign base of Dhekelia in 1999. The refugees have since been granted asylum and have been staying in Dhekelia ever since.
However, a new agreement was reached between the government of Cyprus and the British Bases about a year ago in which the government would take responsibility of the refugees. This in turn prompted the British Bases to close down the school, which was temporarily set up for the refugees when they first arrived.
British Bases spokesman Dennis Barnes told the Cyprus Mail that they were only complying with what was agreed with the government, adding that the pupils would be better served in a proper educational institute. The temporary school was initially an old barrack converted into a classroom to teach the refugee children English and other basic subjects.
“We reached an agreement with the Republic of Cyprus and they agreed to take on the administrative responsibility regarding the recognised 91 refugees that were currently residing in the British base of Dhekelia.
“We have not renewed the contract of the single teacher teaching those lessons. But the announcement of the school closing down was certainly not news to anyone. The school actually closed last term and the people concerned were made aware of that fact.”
But that news appeared to have fallen on deaf ears as countless refugees attempted to take their children to the school.
Kurdish refugee Almedzer Ader told the Cyprus Mail, “Our children have nowhere to go and I don’t know what we are going to do. They told us that the school is closed but what am I supposed to do with them now.”
A representative of the Primary Educational Department in Dhekelia explained to the Cyprus Mail that he was confident the government would undertake its duty of looking after refugees, adding that the pupils would be found other schools in the neighbouring towns and villages around Dhekelia.
