~ No derogation in sight ~
MARIGOT:--- On Tuesday morning there was a demonstration by parents protesting against the obligation to wear masks at school, for children from six years old, in front of the prefecture, in Saint Martin.
While about sixty people, bearing placards in their hands, demonstrated in front of the State Representation, a delegation was received by the Deputy Prefect of the Northern Islands and the Vice-Rector, that lasted a little over an hour, the Collective considers it to be "very constructive", in the sense that each other's arguments have been exchanged and heard. "Now, we have in front of us a prefecture and a rectorate which are frozen in their positions", the authorities explaining that this is a government decree, and that in metropolitan France this has been in place since the month of October and that "nobody complains about it anymore".
To which the Collective replied that it did not agree and reminded the prefect that children in metropolitan France were largely affected by wearing masks and that to ignore this reality "was a mistake". The spokesperson for the Collective recalled that people are resilient but very respectful of standards, and that barrier gestures are respected.
"Everyone wears the mask, everyone accepts that tourism and business are affected, but we have firmly reminded them that if it was about the health of our children, and that here, on the other hand, we did not agree, and that we did not understand the decision that they were trying to impose on us ", especially" as we know today, that the masks are very badly worn, that they are perfectly ineffective in terms of health protocol ”. On the other hand, "it makes our children sick, it stresses them out, psychologically it's bad, for learning it's bad, and undoubtedly, in the long term, we will know that it is bad for health", argues collective.
The latter hopes that "things will remain calm, and that there will not be a rise in power as in Guadeloupe. Because we know it would be negative for our children, that's not what we want ".
While adding, "Let our children live as we hear. We are responsible for their education, it’s not you who decides for us ”. Each remains, for the moment, on its positions, and the Collective, assures that it will not stop there, "we hope all the same that we planted a small seed and that there will be behind all that a small one. reflection, and that it will go back to the ministry. We were nevertheless promised that the situation would be reassessed in two weeks.
The next action of the Parents' Collective will take place on Friday, March 5, 2021, always from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., 0, in front of the West Indies Mall where the rectorate is located, with a meeting scheduled with Vice-Rector Michel Sanz.
SMBN
