From Falcon to Phoenix

A close-up of the charred remains of the ACST elementary library (photo: ACST).

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American Cooperative School of Tunis rises from the ashes in the wake of being overrun, looted during September unrest

Recent tumult in the Middle East and North Africa region reached the campus of the American Cooperative School of Tunis (ACST) on Friday 14 September. We had made a great start to the new year, with upgraded technology, a new house-based organization in middle school, and a happy buzz arising partly from our hopes that Tunisia’s democratic emergence would benefit us as much as it would our hosts.

As in many countries across the region, the current government—tasked with writing a new constitution while simultaneously managing all other day-to-day tasks—has been struggling to reconcile competing visions of Tunisia’s future.

Radical elements are a small segment of the population, but have demonstrated a willingness to use violence in order to press their demands. Their violent demonstrations earlier in the week had us on alert, and information about potential trouble on the fateful Friday led us to dismiss students and empty the campus at noon. The school was attacked only hours later.

Looters stole or destroyed the large majority of our technology equipment. The oldest building on campus, housing our elementary library and many classrooms, was a complete loss, along with most music and sports equipment, games and supplies. The school closed while we assessed the damage, the security situation, and the options for reopening.

Uncertainty about security for students and staff, and about the commitment of the government to address these concerns, made decision-making challenging. It was a relief to finally get back to work, even if that work focused principally on physical clean-up and recovery.

Staff, soon joined by our high school students, dived into the cleanup process, navigating all the mixed emotions to be expected in the aftermath of such an event.

We drew strength from each other, and were heartened by the messages of support from Tunisian friends of ACST and the many offers of help and donations—books, portable classrooms, laptops and more—which we continue to receive.

We also received hundreds of messages from friends and colleagues around the world, offering encouragement and support, and were contacted by several student government representatives and service clubs, some of whom have ambitious projects underway to help defray our rebuilding and recovery costs.

We have had to make many adjustments: getting by in the short term with far less technology than before, sharing and migrating between spaces, and taking on roles and responsibilities we did not expect to be part of our daily practice.

Despite some ongoing surprises and frustrations, we are glad to be focused on what now seems gloriously mundane: IB exams, parent conferences, sports practice, research projects. It feels good.

In the area of silver linings, our situation may finally prompt the government to act on helping us secure land tenure, tax relief, and expedited customs clearance; all of these are issues we have struggled with in the past. What is more, these events may help shape the future in Tunisia as much as for our school: a new constitution, elections, and a new government are coming soon.

ACST will be here, teaching and learning, now as much phoenix as the Falcons we have been since 1959. Please visit our school website to learn more about our fund-raising projects, rebuilding our landmarks, and the plans we are making for the future.

Mr. Roach is ACST’s Secondary School Librarian. Visit ACST at http://www.acst.net.

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