The soldiers told Mary that they considered the Nuers in the camps to be rebels, and that they killed her sons because they couldn’t risk letting them grow up to be fighters.
The 27-year-old recounts what occurred next distantly, as if she were explaining something that happened to someone else. peacekeeping base in the northern city of Bentiu when they ran into Kiir’s forces on the road in June 2014. Mary and her family were among the tens of thousands of civilians seeking refuge at a U.N. At least 50,000 people have been killed, according to the U.N., nearly 4 million face famine, and another 2.2 million have fled their homes, recounting tales of civilian slaughter, gratuitous torture and even forced cannibalism.
Their war, fought largely along ethnic lines, has turned the northern part of the country into a wasteland. Mary and her family were members of the Nuer tribe in South Sudan, caught up in a vicious power struggle between the new country’s President Salva Kiir, a member of the Dinka tribe, and his Vice President, Riek Machar, a Nuer. When the uniformed men yanked her daughter from her hands next, Mary didn’t think it could get any worse. Then the soldiers killed her two sons, ages 5 and 7. School officials say they will wrap up their investigation into the allegations in about a week or so and determine a course of action after that.By Aryn Baker | Photographs by Lynsey Addario for TIME Ramirez wants to warn parents of Haydock students to check their children's cell phones, because she believes a lot of kids out there have that alleged video on their cell phones, and parents just don't know about it. And there is videotape and probably all of Oxnard by now has it." They won't say what actions, if any, have been taken against the students at this time.Īs for whether the alleged sex act was videotaped, Goldman said, "I have no knowledge of any factual basis to believe that, but there are a lot of reports going out, and that's also part of our investigation." School officials have placed the teacher on paid administrative leave. "What do you think the mom said? She freaked out." "Another parent that lives on my same block, her kid came home after school and she said, 'Mom, what is oral sex?'" said Ramirez. "That's kind of scary for our children," said parent Rosa Vargas. "I'm not saying that that was actually what happened or not, but we're investigating that at this moment." "The allegation is that two students were engaged in a sexual act for a brief period of time at the school," said Sean Goldman, assistant superintendent, /*Oxnard Elementary School District*/. School administrators were investigating that complaint when someone tipped them off about the alleged sexual encounter during a 7th and 8th grade reading intervention class. School district officials say the alleged incident took place nearly two months ago, but recently came to light after a parent filed a complaint about a bullying issue at the school. Ramirez said students in the class videotaped the alleged sex act on their cell phones.Īsked if she had seen the video, Ramirez replied, "Yes, I have seen the video. Some parents are outraged and shocked on the heels of allegations of a boy and a girl engaged in oral sex during class at /*Richard B. "I want those kids to be expelled out of the school because they shouldn't have oral sex in front of classmates," said parent Silva Ramirez.