Teacher 'deeply regrets' racist rant
The teacher has indicated she will issue a statement after her disciplinary hearing in which she will apologise to the nation.
Leandrea Louw
WALVIS BAY
A grade two assistant teacher at Hillside Christian College in Walvis Bay, who is on suspension after making racially-charged remarks on Facebook, will face a disciplinary hearing tomorrow.
According to Hillside Christian College acting principal Wilma de Sousa, Corien Steenkamp deeply regrets her racist Facebook rant.
“When we delivered the notice of the disciplinary hearing, she apologised to the school for the remarks she made. She said that she will issue a statement after the hearing, apologising to the nation,” De Sousa said.
Steenkamp said in a post on Facebook that “civilisation is not made for blacks and that the Bible was also not written for blacks”.
“The world knows that Europe is fed up with uncivilised people. America is fed up with uncivilised invaders, that's why Trump is building the wall,” her post said further.
“Let that sink into your rotten and smelly mouth. Go back to the bush and eat your rotten food like your forefathers,” she responded when confronted by another Facebook user.
The remarks were made following the death of Zimbabwean street vendor Hlaisanani Zhou at Otjiwarongo last week, after he was allegedly assaulted by five men who have since been denied bail.
'A combination of events'
De Sousa said “a combination of events” led to Steenkamp making the remarks.
“She also said she did not remove any comments or posts as are stated on social media.”
De Sousa further mentioned that Steenkamp has indicated she will accept the outcome of the disciplinary hearing.
“She is very apologetic about her actions. This is not the type of person she is. We have never had any complaints about her from our colleagues or the parents of the children she teaches. She has never uttered any racist remarks or derogatory terms while teaching at Hillside.”
De Sousa said the school deeply regrets the offence caused and wishes to apologise for the harm done.
Filled with dismay
Hillside Christian College director Cornelius Jansen condemned Steenkamp's remarks.
“The comments filled me with dismay. As a school, we condemn these remarks in the strongest terms and distance ourselves from this kind of behaviour and attitude. There is no time for racism and no time to look down on others because of their skin colour. I stand strongly against racism in any form.”
Jansen further said Steenkamp's contract is clear.
“Bringing the school's reputation into disrepute calls for immediate dismissal. We will meet with our legal advisors to finalise her dismissal. This must happen legally and orderly so that there will not be any repercussions,” he said.
“The comments made on Facebook do not in any way reflect how we operate at Hillside. We have been operating for 15 years and this is the first incident of its kind at the school,” Jansen added.
Dismissal demanded
Walvis Bay-born activist and former junior mayor of the town, Omar van Reenen, who is currently studying in New York, started mobilising his followers on Facebook to take action against Steenkamp over the weekend.
“Contact the school to demand that they dismiss her and demand that they release a statement condemning her racial acts. We cannot allow our students to be educated at Hillside while they employ a blatant racist.”
[email protected]
WALVIS BAY
A grade two assistant teacher at Hillside Christian College in Walvis Bay, who is on suspension after making racially-charged remarks on Facebook, will face a disciplinary hearing tomorrow.
According to Hillside Christian College acting principal Wilma de Sousa, Corien Steenkamp deeply regrets her racist Facebook rant.
“When we delivered the notice of the disciplinary hearing, she apologised to the school for the remarks she made. She said that she will issue a statement after the hearing, apologising to the nation,” De Sousa said.
Steenkamp said in a post on Facebook that “civilisation is not made for blacks and that the Bible was also not written for blacks”.
“The world knows that Europe is fed up with uncivilised people. America is fed up with uncivilised invaders, that's why Trump is building the wall,” her post said further.
“Let that sink into your rotten and smelly mouth. Go back to the bush and eat your rotten food like your forefathers,” she responded when confronted by another Facebook user.
The remarks were made following the death of Zimbabwean street vendor Hlaisanani Zhou at Otjiwarongo last week, after he was allegedly assaulted by five men who have since been denied bail.
'A combination of events'
De Sousa said “a combination of events” led to Steenkamp making the remarks.
“She also said she did not remove any comments or posts as are stated on social media.”
De Sousa further mentioned that Steenkamp has indicated she will accept the outcome of the disciplinary hearing.
“She is very apologetic about her actions. This is not the type of person she is. We have never had any complaints about her from our colleagues or the parents of the children she teaches. She has never uttered any racist remarks or derogatory terms while teaching at Hillside.”
De Sousa said the school deeply regrets the offence caused and wishes to apologise for the harm done.
Filled with dismay
Hillside Christian College director Cornelius Jansen condemned Steenkamp's remarks.
“The comments filled me with dismay. As a school, we condemn these remarks in the strongest terms and distance ourselves from this kind of behaviour and attitude. There is no time for racism and no time to look down on others because of their skin colour. I stand strongly against racism in any form.”
Jansen further said Steenkamp's contract is clear.
“Bringing the school's reputation into disrepute calls for immediate dismissal. We will meet with our legal advisors to finalise her dismissal. This must happen legally and orderly so that there will not be any repercussions,” he said.
“The comments made on Facebook do not in any way reflect how we operate at Hillside. We have been operating for 15 years and this is the first incident of its kind at the school,” Jansen added.
Dismissal demanded
Walvis Bay-born activist and former junior mayor of the town, Omar van Reenen, who is currently studying in New York, started mobilising his followers on Facebook to take action against Steenkamp over the weekend.
“Contact the school to demand that they dismiss her and demand that they release a statement condemning her racial acts. We cannot allow our students to be educated at Hillside while they employ a blatant racist.”
[email protected]
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