Expelled Nations Student gives his side of the story

Jan 31, 2019 News

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The boy at the centre of the controversy at School of the Nations, since being expelled from the school for what appeared to be a threat to “shoot up” the school, has been cooperating with the police.
He is now ready to give his side of the story.
The young man’s father, Satyadeo Persaud, pleading for his son’s story to be heard, told Kaieteur News, “All I want is for society to hear the boy’s side of the story. He’s not a murderer; he’s not condemned for anything. He’s free. All I want is for the country to know the boy’s side of the story so that he can go back to school and study.”
Dialing back to before the controversy all started, the 16-year-old said, “It started off in a Whatsapp group chat, about November 2017.”
He explained that he and a few other friends had started a group chat; friends who are now fifth form students at the school.”
“So I was talking with them. One of them made a joke. I understand it was a joke. I wasn’t offended by it; that I’m a school shooter because I’m white; well, white-looking. Throughout 2018, the joke continued and several people joined in. I didn’t like it, but I accepted it.”
The boy, who is Brazilian by birth, had been living in the US for some time, but decided to come back to Guyana because he wanted to complete his studies at the School of the Nations.
“So, I eventually came back to Nations, and the joke came back in real life. People would say, ‘When you gon’ shoot up the school?’ or ‘I can’t wait for you shoot up the school.’”
He said that, eventually, he got in on the joke himself. So one day, he made a joke on his Whatsapp status, that he would “shoot up” the school.
“So, then it was taken out of context. When the staff saw it, they didn’t understand the joke. They thought it was serious or something, so they called me into Dr. Dexter Phillips’s office [the CEO], and he proceeded to tell me about the situation.”
The boy said that Phillips told him a few things that were untrue, including that the post was made on Facebook when, according to the child, he doesn’t even have a Facebook account. He said that he heard the same utterances repeatedly, from persons and from the news; that he’s from America; that he’s white; that, because of the issue of gun violence in the US, he may be a danger to the school.
He said that the school never let him explain his side of the story.
“They never gave me a hearing. They were quick to expel me.”
Asked how he got the news of the expulsion, he said that he found out when his father called him. His father said that when he got the call, he was worried that his son might have been hurt or sick, because the person who called him said that he needed to talk to Dr. Phillips, the school’s CEO.
When he got to the school, he saw his son sitting in a corner of the room to which he was led. Dr. Phillips, by then, started telling him that his son posted a threat to Facebook.
At this point, the boy interjected, saying “No, no, no. It’s not Facebook.”
The father told Kaieteur News, “He wouldn’t even let the boy speak. I was there. He wouldn’t let the boy speak and they got into an argument. Dr. Phillips said ‘You’re disrespecting me.’
“The boy said ‘Okay, I don’t mean to disrespect you. I just want to explain myself,’ at which point, Phillips said “You go home. Take him home.”
The father, concerned for his son’s education and wellbeing, went back to the school, where he found Mrs. Pam O’Toole. He told Mrs. O’Toole that the threat was just a joke between friends, and that the boy needed a chance to explain his side of the story.
“I don’t know how it came out but it’s a school problem. It is a school problem, and the boy needs to be heard.”
The woman, the father said, decided to give the boy a chance to explain his story. She told the father to have him put his explanation in writing, which he did.
Later, while running an errand, the father said that he got a call from the school.
The school told the father that “[redacted] is expelled from the school. That’s what they told me. I was shocked. I was hurt.”
“The next morning, I woke up and saw that it was in the Chronicle, that he came from America, a white Caucasian, and posted this thing. From there, it became a scary thing. The school made it into a scary thing. I don’t think it’s right.”
His father told Kaieteur News that the boy had pleaded with him, for a long time, to have him come back to Guyana because he wanted to complete his education at School of the Nations.
“The boy came back to study and his life is being ruined. He asked them to consider this. He asked them not to ‘destroy my life’, but they expelled him before he could give [his explanation].”
The father said that he hopes his son’s name could be cleared, because he wants him to go back to school.
“Not necessarily Nations. I doubt they would take him back. I doubt they would be humble enough to say that they were wrong. I want him to study and carry on his education. He doesn’t hate the school. He loves the school. This is the truth and the whole truth.”
After news of his expulsion circulated, the student’s friends started a Whatsapp group, where they share news articles on the matter, and brainstorm ways to clear his name. His friends, as well as his father, are concerned that the matter is being exacerbated by racial stereotypes which do not reflect who he is.
Meanwhile, the person behind the Facebook account from which further threats against the school were posted, has changed the tone of posts and has signaled intention to work with the post.
The post, made yesterday, expressed that the individual’s life may be in danger, as a result of a disagreement between other persons who have threatened the school. The individual claims that their lives are in danger and gave instructions about how the police should attempt to contact him.
School of the Nations will remain closed for the rest of the week.

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