ASD Heart by Bob Elliott. This photo will be in the Qatar Tribune on Sunday as the ASD community sends its compassion and sympathy to those impacted.
Today, May 31, 2012, the ASD community decided to demonstrate how it was feeling and how it was impacted by the terrible Villagio tragedy. Today, the ASD community was all heart in order to shows its compassion for the all of those touched by the horrific event that occurred on Monday, May 28, 2012. Students, parents, and faculty were asked to dress in white in order to form an all school heart on the main field. This particular teacher failed to wear white (I don't even have a good excuse. I was being an airhead.), but I was able to capture the awesome moment from above. I got some great photos and videos of the heart of ASD. I think it is always neat to see our entire campus of 2,000 students plus teachers and parents all together in one place in unity...
The teachers going in to be part of the heart.
Still waiting on a few classes from the lower elementary to join the group.
I would say that we have had a strange occurrence of events within the last week here in Doha. Last week Tuesday, the fire alarm went off during recess/snack time. Those of you who know how a school works, know that this is a very odd time to have a planned fire drill. As we all waited out on the grass field, burning in the sun, we were told that smoke had actually triggered the fire alarm. The rumor I heard was that it had been caused by the lamination machine. Nevertheless, nothing bad happened and the only loss was a bit of recess/snack. We were permitted to reenter our cool school for the rest of the day. On Friday, I was supposed to meet a few friends at the local Rugby Club. It is a fun place to go to enjoy a few drinks, food, music, rugby, or even swim from time to time. As I was getting ready to leave, my friend sent me a message saying that the Rugby Club was on fire...literally. In the end, it was only the tent that stands next to the main building and no one was hurt. The Rugby Club stayed open and we were still able to enjoy a nice evening of music.
Yesterday, May 28, 2012 was a very tragic day for the community of Doha, Qatar. Qatar is about the size of Connecticut and even though Doha is a large city, it can feel much like a small town. It is amazing how many connections are made and who knows who through mutual friends. Rumors, that were true, quickly started yesterday afternoon about a fire at Villagio Mall. This is a place that the majority of people in Doha go to quite often. I had been there the night before to do some shopping and meet friends for dinner. This particular mall has an amusement park, ice rink, grocery store, numerous restaurants, and countless other shops. In all, 19 people were killed in this horrible fire. This event has touched many people at ASD very close to home as some of our employees are friends with the families of the deceased children and many of students happen to live in the same compounds as many of the families directly involved. A loss of a life is always tragic and sad, but I think what has touched home to so many people are the 13 children deaths caused by this fire. Thankful to a wonderful team of counselors and administrators, we are dealing with this tragedy very well.
This horrible event and the international attention is has received within the last 24 hours has also made me think more about human rights in Qatar. This is an issue that I feel very conflicted about and there are always a number of situations that makes my mind return to this topic. My friend Ann Durham wrote a very interesting blog about this in October: Human Rights. Ann touched down on many of my own opinions and thoughts and she wrote very eloquently about the issue. Reading the articles in The New York Times, on BBC, CNN, and Al Jazeera about the fire, has made me ask myself, "How many worker deaths are there each day in Doha that go unnoticed and unreported?" Not in any way am I negating the horrific event that happened yesterday, but in actuality, this horrible occurrence causes my mind to venture to all of the sad and terrible things that happen and call into question of why they must happen. I have also just read another article in The New York Times about a drug raid in my old home of Honduras: Honduran Villages Caught in Drug War’s Cross-Fire. Again, causing me to call into questions all the violence in this world.
Below is an article from yesterday's fire as well as a few other images:
Doha-based cartoonist Khalid Al Baih drew this cartoon as a prayer to the deceased.
Authorities report 19 people killed, including 13 children, in fire at major shopping and entertainment complex in Doha.
Last Modified: 29 May 2012 00:03
At least 19 people have been killed, including 13 children in a fire at a major shopping mall and entertainment complex in the Qatari capital Doha, according to the country's interior ministry.
The ministry said on Monday that four female teachers and two firefighters were among those killed in the fire, while at least 17 others were injured. Among the children were six boys and seven girls.
Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker, reporting from the scene, said firefighters were forced to go through the roof of the mall to reach a nursery where the children were trapped.
"The nursery, where most of the children were, is on the first floor with difficult access," our correspondent said.
The health ministry cited suffocation due to smoke inhalation as the cause of death for many of the children and teachers at the Gympanzee nursery.
"We were told the nationalities of the children included Japanese, Filipino, South African, and also European and Arab, but no Qataris," our correspondent said. "Three of the teachers were Filipino and one was African."
Dekker said that the cause of the fire was not confirmed, and authorities were still investigating.
"A witness who was in the mall told me that initially he saw green smoke, and soon after that it turned black and then very heavy," Dekker said.
"He also said that the sprinkler system was not working."
Eyewitnesses reported confusion in the rescue effort, saying they saw no evidence of an organised evacuation plan.
Some among the witnesses reported that the emergency exits in the shopping complex were locked.
Government investigation
Officials said rescue workers were not initially informed that many of those trapped were children. The emergency workers reportedly arrived on the scene within 60 seconds of an initial phone call, but the lack of floor plan delayed the rescue efforts.
Abdullah bin Nasser al-Khalifa, Qatar's minister of state for interior affairs, said a combination of heavy smoke, heat and narrow corridors in the shopping complex forced emergency services to seek an alternative point of entry.
"That entry was from the top of the complex. Time was really critical, and the team took some time because the maps were not immediately available", he said, adding that firefighters had to break through the roof to get to trapped children after a staircase to the first-floor nursery collapsed.
At the evening press conference, the minister expressed his condolence for those that died in the fire, adding that most of the injured were firefighters from the civil defence operation.
Footage posted online showed black smoke billowing from the shopping centre as emergency vehicles rushed to the scene.
The Villagio is one of the Gulf country's largest and most popular shopping malls, containing a cinema, an ice rink and an amusement park.
The government said that a commission will be formed to investigate the safety standards of buildings in Qatar.
Here is the video that my friend Sylvie (the French teacher who planned the trip) and her son put together for the high school assembly last week. I think it turned out really neat and is a lovely way to remember our great week in Paris!
Being able to spend Spring Break in Paris was absolutely amazing to say the least. I had the chance to travel with two fantastic teachers and 23 awesome ASD students. In the middle of the week, we were able to catch up with the Wolf family (two other ASD teachers and their two children). I teach both of their children in Spanish class and it was great to spend some time with them outside the classroom and in Paris! Chris Wolf, who is a social studies teacher, asked me about my top five events in Paris. When I started to mumble and backtrack a number of times, he laughed and stated, "We did our top three last night, so the top five should be easy."
Now that I have had plenty of time to think and reflect, I feel that I may finally have my top five. However, this may change from time to time...haha...
1. Coming across the house where Pablo Picasso lived for a while AND painted "Guernica." This was such an unexpected and pleasant surprise. I was so excited I think I jumped up and down in the middle of the street. Last year, I was able to see "Guernica" in Madrid, Spain.
2. Participating in the ceremony on the Champs Elysees at the Arc de Triomphe at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Military ceremonies are regularly held at the Arc to commemorate France's war dead. It was such a great honor and wonderful experience for our students!
4. Notre Dame was super high on my list before we left. However, on the same day we went to Notre Dame, we visited the Sainte Chappelle which was an absolutely amazing surprise. I may have tried to include two in one, but I think the Sainte Chappelle takes the spot! The awesomely amazing stained glass windows left me in awe.
Enjoying the sun outside Notre Dame, but then we went to the Sainte Chappelle...
5. I think for my final pick, I am going to be very touristy and say the Eiffel Tower. It was absolutely splendid to sit in the park near the tower and enjoy the sun and relax. I must also add, that seeing the Eiffel Tower sparkle and shine at night was quite breathtaking and we were able to see this from quite a few different spots. Whether it was from the top of the Arc de Triomphe or from the Seine River the Eiffel Tower seems to pop up in many of our Parisian excursions.
