Public Criticism Grows Over Bystanders Not Stopping Tragic Incident Involving Six-Year-Old Gabriel Orellano

Apart from the teachers at the school, the public has also been harshly critical of the many people who saw little Gabriel on the street and did not stop him. The Ministry of Education confirmed that several people called 911 when they saw the child on the street and that some of the eyewitnesses have been interviewed. It’s a situation that has raised questions about where we are as a society. Minister of Education Francis Fonseca says that, despite the tragic situation, he will not condemn those who did not stop Orellano and he encourages the public to keep from being judgmental.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education: “Let’s not be judgmental, right? We live in a society. Yeah, we live in a changed society, that is true. But everybody is dealing with their own issues and challenges. Nowadays, everybody has their head down, heading from point A to B. You don’t know what they are going through, right? And then on top of that, we are always on our phones and in our phones so nobody’s looking around. So yes, it’s very true that the community spirit that we often talk about has changed. That old adage of being your brother’s and sister’s keeper that perhaps was very evident 20 years ago or so obviously has changed. We obviously have to do more of that and go back to that and understand that we are one society and that we have to look out for each other, especially our vulnerable people, right? Our children and our elderly, right? Too many of our children and elderly are neglected. So it’s an important issue, but I would urge Belizeans not to rush the judgment against their fellow citizens because we really don’t know what everybody’s going through. People are going through their problems and so sometimes they might not do or act in the way we want them to.”

An eyewitness told Loved News that she called 911 twice that day, once before and once after Orellano had drowned. The woman says that a 911 operator told her if she was really concerned about Orellano, she should have stopped him.