School resumes in village of Bilge

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

refid:11628406 ilişkili resim dosyası

The primary school, which had 40 students and two rooms before the attack, now has 25 students because one student died and 14 others left the village in Mardin in Southeast Turkey because their fathers were suspected of committing the crime.

Local prosecutors have charged 11 suspects, all from Bilge village, with attacking another family, killing 44 people and injuring three others. The families of the suspected attackers have fled the village, fearing retaliation.

One of the two classrooms has been converted into a pre-school that will be used by 23 other children.

Under expert supervision, the students expressed on paper what they felt after the shooting last week; the drawings were hung on the walls of the classroom. The governor’s office also distributed stationary to the children.
Psychological counselor Osman Çakır told the Anatolia news agency that they had been working around the clock for the past three days to prepare the school for the children. Çakır said the 14 children who had left the village after the attack would also be contacted and counseled.

Neighbors help

"The parents preferred the children to continue their education rather than the tents we prepared. The education tent will stay to provide counseling and hold workshops for the children," he said.

Students from the neighboring Sultan village arrived in Bilge yesterday morning to help clean the school. Sultan Primary School Principal Mehmet Uygundağ said they were in Bilge to provide moral support for the children.

Psychological and social counselers have advised NGOs and others to focus on long-term rehabilitation for the children scarred by the tragedy.