The Ariel School, Zimbabwe UFO sighting - has it ever been debunked?

[Giddierone]

Casspirs are used by several nations including the United States (I'd guess mainly to develop US MRAP -mine-resistant ambush protected- vehicles).
The Zimbabwe National Army's main approximate equivalent is the cruder Crocodile APC, inherited from the Rhodesian army.
Much less visible glass than a Casspir.

View attachment 85847

Other than pre-1980 Rhodesian police vehicles (I don't think Zimbabwe Republic Police use them) and some painted white for UN operations in Somalia 1993-1995, I've only seen photos of them in green, earth or camo paint.

Edited to add, I've just realised "1993-1995"... still think it's an unlikely candidate though; not slab-sided and little in the way of glass. Just a big army truck.

Another addition: South African Casspirs feature quite a bit in the Science Fiction movie District 9,

Casspirs were extensively used by the human characters to enter into the alien settlement zone in the 2009 movie District 9.

Wikipedia, Casspir https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casspir

I saw a newspaper article today, from Zimbabwe in 1992, that shows that "unusual vehicles" like these occasionally "caused heads to turn."

EDIT: it was reported in a Zimbabwe newspaper, but as @John J. says was seen in Mogadishu, Somalia.

 

[John J.]

Its an MAP75 Puma, essentially an armoured hull and engine compartment on a truck chassis. Successor to the Crocodile.
The photo would be from the 1993-95 UN deployment in Somalia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAP75_armoured_personnel_carrier

 

[alien]

Another desperate attempt to belittle the witnesses. It's starting to get painful. Is it possible the children were telling the truth?

 

[JMartJr]

Another desperate attempt to belittle the witnesses. It's starting to get painful. Is it possible the children were telling the truth?

It is likely to me that they are/were mostly telling the truth as the observed it and as they later recalled it. You can tell the truth as you know it and be seriously in error, though. It is not belittling to any witness to point out that they are human, and humans get a lot of stuff wrong as witnesses. It is not questioning their integrity. It is not calling them dishonest, or liars.

This idea that the act of questioning whether what a witness reports is accurate is somehow an attack on them or on their integrity is tiresome.

 

[Edward Current]

Another desperate attempt to belittle the witnesses. It's starting to get painful.

Another deperate attempt to silence and shame anyone who brings to the discussion well-established knowledge about human perception, memory, and psychology.

Is it possible the children were telling the truth?

Yes. It is not impossible.

 

[Mendel]

Another desperate attempt to belittle the witnesses. It's starting to get painful. Is it possible the children were telling the truth?

Given the contradictions in the testimony, yes, it's impossible.
It's pretty much a given that, whatever the truth was, many if not all children misperceived and misremembered it. Which is human nature and not at all their fault, but was exacerbated by how the ufologists treated them.

 

[John J.]

Another desperate attempt to belittle the witnesses.

Where?
A theory that the sighting was triggered by the children seeing something mundane (if unfamiliar) isn't belittling anyone.
(I don't think it's likely that an armoured truck/ APC was responsible, if that's what's being referred to, but that's just my opinion).

Given the contradictions in the testimony, yes, it's impossible.

Agreed. It's not possible that all the claimed witnesses are giving accurate accounts of what they saw, as they describe (sometimes in detail) very different things. It is possible that all the claimed witnesses are giving inaccurate accounts (as was probably the case at Fatima, 1917) and that the majority of children, who saw nothing unusual, are giving accurate accounts.

 

[JMartJr]

I really think it is important to differentiate between "honest" and "accurate." Given contradictions in accounts, it is not possible that all the accounts are accurate. At the very best, some must be in error whether they saw something mundane or space aliens, because they report seeing contradictory things.

It is nonetheless very possible that all are reporting honestly what they remember seeing (or remembered, for past reports.) -- honestly reported faulty memories are still honest.

 

[deirdre]

It is nonetheless very possible that all are reporting honestly what they remember seeing (or remembered, for past reports.)

i dont know.. it was a pretty large group of children. all of them? that sounds iffy.

But i dont think it's possible to belittle young children for being young children.

 

[FatPhil]

Another desperate attempt to belittle the witnesses. It's starting to get painful. Is it possible the children were telling the truth?

It is impossible that all the children were telling only the truth, as there are obvious contradictions.

 

[JJB]

But i dont think it's possible to belittle young children for being young children.

The Zimbabwe schoolchildren were not lying or stupid. They likely experienced something unusual and genuinely believed what they reported?

But children are highly suggestible, especially in groups, and their interpretations are strongly shaped by expectations, peer reinforcement, and the way adults questioned them afterward.

Once a narrative starts to form, it spreads fast and hardens.

 

[Todd Feinman]

The Zimbabwe schoolchildren were not lying or stupid. They likely experienced something unusual and genuinely believed what they reported?

But children are highly suggestible, especially in groups, and their interpretations are strongly shaped by expectations, peer reinforcement, and the way adults questioned them afterward.

Once a narrative starts to form, it spreads fast and hardens.

UFOs showing up near schools is a particular type of sighting and has been claimed to occur in a number of different places.

 

[deirdre]

The Zimbabwe schoolchildren were not lying or stupid.

i never said they were lying or stupid. We teach children to pretend from practically day 1. hell, if they are lucky they fall asleep each night to pretend stories being read into their ears. We pretend santa claus is real (and the children go along with the fun), we pretend we love the socks grandma gave us for xmas. etc etc

When they say they saw santa claus in the yard, are they lying? or are they just playing like the rest of us?

Pretend isnt lying. It's pretend.

Lying is when they say they didnt eat the cookie, despite the cookie crumbs on their face. (although some psychiatrists say that too is a form a story telling... but im not personally willing to be that open minded )

note: a few of the older ones are lying. you can tell from the look on their faces. but they are fun lies, so i personally think its funny.

 

[Ann K]

UFOs showing up near schools is a particular type of sighting and has been claimed to occur in a number of different places.

I think we'll need a reference for that. All of that; specifically, what constitutes "a particular type of sighting", and in what "number of different places"?

Bear in mind that sci-fi, in televised programs and in print media, is a favorite of children. I think it probable that a very high percent of school age kids have been exposed to UFO stories, such that separating fact from fiction is a difficult task.

 

[Giddierone]

I think we'll need a reference for that. All of that; specifically, what constitutes "a particular type of sighting", and in what "number of different places"?

Bear in mind that sci-fi, in televised programs and in print media, is a favorite of children. I think it probable that a very high percent of school age kids have been exposed to UFO stories, such that separating fact from fiction is a difficult task.

Synopsis of a recent book Schoolyard UFO Encounters about such claims:

Aliens at school! Extraterrestrials on the playground!For the past 170 years, schools across the United States and the world have been targeted and visited by UFOs. These are not simple fly-overs. In these cases, the objects hover for long periods at extremely low elevation, often landing next to the school. In many cases, humanoids are seen. Elementary schools, junior high and high schools, colleges and universities -- all have been targeted. The ETs are here, and they are coming for our children.March 15, 1950, thirty-one students at Prestonburg Elementary School, in Prestonburg, Kentucky observe a fleet of UFOs.Summer, 1952, Joan Torrance and dozens of other students at Elder Park Elementary School in Glasgow, Scotland see a metallic saucer hover 30 feet above the school.October 22, 1955, sixty students at Jerome Elementary School in Marysville, Ohio observe a dramatic UFO display, including physical evidence in the form of angel hair.March 21, 1966, eighty-seven students at Hillsdale College, in Hillsdale, Michigan observe a UFO land in front of the school.April 6, 1966, more than 200 students at Westall High School, in Melbourne, Australia, observe three or four UFOs, one of which lands next to the school.April 7, 1967, more than 200 students at Crestview Elementary School in Opa-locka, Florida, observe a UFO land next to the school.March 17, 1970, more than 400 students at Richmond School in Maraenui, New Zealand observe a UFO hover overhead.February 4, 1977, fourteen students at Broad Haven Elementary School in Haverfordwest, South Wales encounter a landed UFO with occupants.September 16, 1994, more than sixty-two students at Ariel Elementary School in Ruwa, Zimbabwe observe a landed UFO with occupants.And this is just the beginning. This unique and groundbreaking book documents more than 100 cases of schoolyard UFO encounters. Why are extraterrestrials hovering over and landing next to schools? Why are the ETs so interested in our children?Schoolyard UFO Encounters, by longtime researcher Preston Dennett, answers all these questions and more. Something very profound is happening here.

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9781075776984/Schoolyard-UFO-Encounters-100-True-1075776988/plp

 

[Ann K]

@Giddierone
I think I am going to take any post containing the words

"The ETs are here, and they are coming for our children"

with a large grain of salt. Firstly "they happened at schools" is hardly a particular type of sighting, being in no way different from the kind of things witnessed by people who are NOT at schools. And even a cursory glance at Preston Dennett's oeuvre shows you that he never met a paranormal claim that he didn't like. I thought this was supposed to be a serious examination of evidence, not the excited utterances of a professional UFOlogist.

@Todd Feinman , is this book the source of your claim?

 

[Giddierone]

@Giddierone
I think I am going to take any post containing the words

"The ETs are here, and they are coming for our children"

with a large grain of salt. Firstly "they happened at schools" is hardly a particular type of sighting, being in no way different from the kind of things witnessed by people who are NOT at schools. And even a cursory glance at Preston Dennett's oeuvre shows you that he never met a paranormal claim that he didn't like. I thought this was supposed to be a serious examination of evidence, not the excited utterances of a professional UFOlogist.

@Todd Feinman , is this book the source of your claim?

Hey, you asked a question. I just provided an answer, not an opinion or evaluation of the claims being made.

 

[Giddierone]

It's obviously not a flying saucer but it's interesting to see that people were flying stuff around the skies in Zimbabwe in 1994, and occasionally crashing them into schools.

Light model aircraft crash puts rescue services on alert
Herald Reporter POLICE, fire, ambulance, and Department of Civil Aviation services re-acted swiftly after a light aircraft was reported to have crash-landed at Mountbatten School in Belvedere, Ha-rare, on Saturday afternoon. Louis
An initial report sem to police and then relayed to both the DCA and emer. light aircraft had crashed gency services said "a on the roof of one of the buildings at the school and the pilot was feared injured".
As emergency services prepared to swing into action, an air traffic con troller drove to the scene to find out more about "this mysterious plane which had no registration numbers".
Embarrassing
And he found the plane could definitely be de-scribed as light, in fact very light, and was less than 1 m long. The em-barrassed pilot of the ra dio-controlled T180 mod el. Mr Rushid Kassim (27), said his plane
plunged into the roof after interference with other communication waves occurred. He had gone to the school to show his two-year-old son, Imran, how the plane flew.
The cancelled. alert was
Cancelled
"I did not know that such an incident could possibly have been blown out of proportion. I re ported the accident to the security guard. How the Information got so dis
torted still beats me." sald Mr Kassim, a model aircraft enthusiast.
The only damage, be-sides the plane, was a shattered asbestos roof sheet. A replacement will cost $73,20, including nails, and police reckon the whole job can be done for $100, Including la-bour.
Mr Kassim has volun-teered to organise the re-pairs and pay for them and in the circumstances police have withdrawn possible charges of mali clous injury to property.
[Caption] MR Rushid Kassim showing his two-year-old son the wreckage of his model plane which crashed onto the roof of a building at Louis Mountbat-ten School in Harare at the weekend.

 

[Todd Feinman]

I think we'll need a reference for that. All of that; specifically, what constitutes "a particular type of sighting", and in what "number of different places"?

Bear in mind that sci-fi, in televised programs and in print media, is a favorite of children. I think it probable that a very high percent of school age kids have been exposed to UFO stories, such that separating fact from fiction is a difficult task.

It is a particular type report. People have reported a large UFO landing near a school in Florida, that I ran across years ago. There is more than one case from Australia. I think there are others. I'll see if there is a list out there.
<edit>
Here is what Google AI has to say:

"Significant UFO sightings involving landings or close encounters at schools include the 1994 Ariel School incident in Zimbabwe (60+ children), 1966 Westall High event in Australia (200+ students/staff), 1977 Broad Haven Primary case in Wales, and a 1967 landing at Crestview Elementary in Florida.
Key Schoolyard UFO Incidents

• Ariel School, Ruwa, Zimbabwe (September 16, 1994): Over 60 students reported a landed craft and small, dark-suited beings in a nearby field, with many sticking to their stories decades later.
• Westall High School, Melbourne, Australia (April 6, 1966): More than 200 students and staff witnessed a grey, saucer-shaped object hovering and descending into a nearby field.
• Broad Haven Primary School, South Wales (February 4, 1977): Fourteen students reported seeing a UFO land near the school playground.
• Crestview Elementary, Opa-locka, Florida (April 7, 1967): Over 200 students witnessed a UFO landing next to the school.
• Richmond School, Maraenui, New Zealand (March 17, 1970): Over 400 students observed a UFO hovering overhead.

Here is a list from listverse that may have more.

 

[deirdre]

It is a particular type report.

you mean just because of the location?
i dont think 5 examples in all of modern history, considering the number of ufo sightings worldwide and the number of schools world wide, is very impressive.

 

[Todd Feinman]

you mean just because of the location?
i dont think 5 examples in all of modern history, considering the number of ufo sightings worldwide and the number of schools world wide, is very impressive.

Just a category in the UFO field. Amazon link here is a book:
Schoolyard UFO Encounters: 100 True Accounts
Preston Dennett

 

[Todd Feinman]

Right this moment I was watching a YouTube Stories Lost episode about a landing at a summer camp…
Episode: "Czech Files: Unexplained Encounters"

 

[deirdre]

Right this moment I was watching a YouTube Stories Lost episode about a landing at a summer camp…

synchronicity. i was wondering about summer camps and soccer matches to compare to school sighting numbers. i'm drawing a blank on other similar outdoor worldwide-ish events.
those arent mon-fri 8 months a year like schools but the math guys could probably account for that and weight them so we can tell if there's an interesting number of ufo sightings at schools.

 

[John J.]

While it doesn't invalidate any claimed UFO sightings, I'm guessing I'm not the only one who remembers what are in retrospect highly unlikely claims and rumours circulating at school, perhaps more likely to have originated from / been spread by certain pupils.

At infant school we were told not to talk to two young men who sometimes chatted to kids through the fence with an adjacent recreation ground (probably perfectly innocently, perhaps they were unemployed or recent school leavers killing time). When they stopped appearing, it was common knowledge that Mr Smith, the plump, avuncular and mild-mannered caretaker had tied them up and shot them
(the 70s were a different era, but looking back the execution of youths by school janitors was rare by then, and might have been newsworthy).

Various students at different times had connections with, or received coaching from, assorted celebrities and national-level sports figures.
13 year-old I. had backstage access to Depeche Mode gigs (and he did have a Depeche Mode cassette), D. had a major publishing deal in the pipeline for her novel about the world of fashion and showbiz, a child sadly killed in an accident at an electricity substation had been knocked from whatever he was climbing by the wing of a Red Arrows jet (there had been an airshow the same weekend).
R. vehemently asserted that dolphins could breathe underwater, he knew because his grandad had a heart transplant from one.
All of these things were believed at some level, for some time, by some classmates. Some would "confirm" the perhaps not-quite entirely accurate accounts from claimants.

Strangely, none of these unusual claims ever got wider coverage. But UFO reports are harder to falsify and have wider appeal. For local reporters, they might be simpler (and more fun) to investigate than the usual crime/ accident/ planning dispute etc. stories, and on slow news days there's the chance of the story being picked up by regional or national media.

We've discussed the reasons why there weren't adult witnesses at Ariel School, but I'm a little sceptical of accounts where schoolchildren claim to see a structured UFO (and sometimes occupants) for some time, in or near school grounds, without any adult witnesses.

 

[Todd Feinman]

synchronicity. i was wondering about summer camps and soccer matches to compare to school sighting numbers. i'm drawing a blank on other similar outdoor worldwide-ish events.
those arent mon-fri 8 months a year like schools but the math guys could probably account for that and weight them so we can tell if there's an interesting number of ufo sightings at schools.

Nice! That's how it starts.. Curiosity, and then 20 years later with your walls covered with newspaper clippings and diagrams, the little white bus shows up..