“Let’s at least say goodbye to our friend.” Last Monday, a letter interrupted the political debate on immigration. A group of 1st ESO students from IES Sabino Berthelot, in Tenerife, published a message in which they regret that a fellow migrant was transferred from the center and the island without notice. Students expressed feeling “surprise and discomfort.” “He was a close friend to everyone and his presence was very important to our group,” they said. His letter spread like wildfire and now has more than 800 I like and a hundred comments on Instagram. Everyone expresses their gratitude. “There is hope,” many users agree. The group’s tutor, Roberto Ruiz Luque, cannot hide his pride during the interview given to this newspaper: “The action carried out by these boys and girls deserves to be supervised. A lesson in humanity that many adults lose, or we had it there but we didn’t realize it.
The group had been together since sixth grade, but last Friday, October 11, the minor did not show up at school. “He didn’t come overnight, but we thought maybe he was sick or had gone to the doctor, like any other child,” says the geography and science teacher. history, who is also a professor of geography and history. However, rumors began to circulate that the twelve-year-old boy had been transferred to another island. “We didn’t tell the kids until it was official, but on Friday afternoon, when they were leaving school, they found out,” the teacher said.
The weekend passed and on Monday, when they returned to class, the 1st year ESO students wanted to express their feeling of “emptiness, sadness and surprise”. “They wanted to express it somehow, but they didn’t know what tool to use to show all these feelings and emotions that were surfacing. They are still twelve-year-old children for whom the value of friendship is very important,” explains Ruiz. According to the professor, who also coordinates the Solidarity and Development Cooperation axis, “the feeling of emptiness was due to the fact that there had been no prior explanation”. “They are experiencing this mourning,” he adds.
A high school teacher gave them the idea of writing their emotions down on paper. Then she and the tutor started looking for common elements in all the cards. In most of them, emptiness, sadness and, above all, worry for the displaced child were repeated. “They wanted to know if I was good or bad and how I had spent the weekend,” says the tutor. “With all these points, we make the letter that we all already know,” he emphasizes. What they didn’t expect was the great impact and support their words had. “The person who runs the social networks continues to receive comments of support, particularly towards these boys and girls who have enhanced these protocols by making them a little more human,” says the group leader.
The students were gradually informed of the impact of their letter. “I measured it. They are young children and you have to protect them a little bit from all this exposure, but they are very happy,” he says. This whole experience also meant excellent joint learning for the students and also for the teachers. “They have developed an action which invites all of society to reflect on this reality. In addition to the awareness they have of human rights, of decision-making… They will carry it with them for the rest of their lives,” says Roberto Ruiz.
At the center, since the beginning of the arrival of migrant students, integration measures and activities have been promoted. For example, in May they celebrate a common holiday on the Canary Islands and Africa, with the 25th being Mainland Day and the 30th being Canary Islands Day. “There is a whole effort in all these courses to teach a little bit about Africa,” Ruiz explains.
More than a week has passed since the group’s separation, but the students still have not heard from their friend. “They care above all about their social and emotional well-being,” specifies the tutor. Until now, they had no news of the boy, who already had “an established friendship network”. The students want the minor to return to the center or at least to be able to say goodbye and exchange contacts.
The general director of Children of the Government of the Canary Islands, Sandra Rodríguez, justified that the only way to work individually with the minors who arrive in boats and cayucos to the Archipelago is to welcome them in smaller centers and to “follow an individualized educational project. this allows us to work globally on their integration into society. Rodríguez explains that the Canary Islands are fragmented into “two judicial districts,” so minors who arrive in El Hierro cannot be transferred to the province of Las Palmas until their age is determined. “To respond to the children and young people arriving through El Hierro, we need to find them accommodation in Tenerife. In Las Palmas we have a few places and this is what caused the transfer of minors who are uncontested and were transferred to Gran Canaria,” he adds.
