A Sad Day in Tunisia

I am not going to say much ... there isn't much that can be said.  Everyone in our community has avoided harm and for the most part things are quit and uneventful today.  I wish I could say the same for our school.  The pictures speak for themselves.  Probably the worst thing to come out of this (and the continuing demonstrations in other Arab countries) is the strengthening of the misconception that Muslims and Arabs are violent.  From our experience that couldn't be farther from the truth, 98% of the Tunisians we have met here are kind, life loving people.  I share their sadness and frustration regarding the actions of a select few yesterday that has further tarnished their cultural image.

We were asked not to attend campus today, as it is being treated as a crime scene and is being photographed for insurance purposes.  The admin team has been meeting with our board of directors throughout the day and are continuing over dinner this evening.  The next steps are a bit unclear at the moment.  We were operating at max capacity (having just added a few classrooms to handle enrollment increases), now with the complete loss of a few rooms and basically all valuable equipment, the year will be different to say the least.

This link should take you to a online Tunisian news source.  I can't tell you what is being said, but there is no need, the images are enough.  At one point in the video you will see a yellow spiral kids slide on the right of the screen, behind it rooms will be on fire, to the left you will see an open door.  That door opens to Kaylee's classroom ... former classroom :(.  Her room was also torched as you will see below.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=343974622364129

Pictures

 Two of our school buses in the front parking lot.

 

The media lab, see any computers? There should be about 7 in this view.

 

 The Music Room, the empty shelves in the back should be full of instruments.

 The Elementary Library, possibly the worst hit by the fire.

 Kaylee's Classroom

Kaylee's Classroom

 Kaylee's Classroom

 Kaylee's Classroom

Kaylee's Classroom

 Kaylee's Classroom

 Achraf (local PE department assistant, we play soccer with him) surveying the damage in the PE office.

Elementary Reading Support Room

Science Lab, might be hard to see but the glass cabinets in the back have been broken and the projector appears to have been a failed theft target.

The Security Office

One of Kaylee's teaching partner's desk, the looters went through every drawer they found looking for valuables.

The design tech shop, it took over three years to amass the tool collection that no longer exists.

The High School Library, notice the empty book shelves (I think that the books were just thrown to the floor) and the 12 empty computer stations.

Entrance to the HS Library