Child with Cerebral Palsy and her brother bullied in school |
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I do not know where to start. My children were bullied by a group of Malay students in school. I would also like to highlight that one of my children who was bullied has physical disabilities in her lower limbs. I get so frustrated when they come to me and complain about being bullied. This is not the first time such things have happened! Two of my three children- Fatimah and Jeelani are students at Boon Lay Garden Primary School. Fatimah has Cerebral Palsy at birth and can't walk. She is in primary 4 this year. Jeelani is also in the same class as Fatimah. The bully's name is Ghaaziyah, who by the way is a classmate of Fatimah. For a while she had been using unkind words and vulgarities to verbally abuse my daughter. She always insults Fatimah's parents in a bid to hurt her feelings. I knew I had to do something, so I went to the school to speak to Ghaaziyah. I asked why she had to hurt Fatimah by scolding her parents. She apologized and I thought it was over. On the 12th of August, Ghaaziyah had an argument with Fatimah due to a misunderstanding. Ghaaziyah threatened Fatimah, claiming she is 'Somebody' outside school associates with a gang of friends. She also warned Fatimah not to mess around with her without knowing her background. Ghaaziyah gathered a few of her friends to confront Fatimah together. Realizing that his sister was being bullied, Jeelani stepped in to put an end to the altercation, but instead ended up exchanging heated words with them. Left with no choice, Jeelani reported the matter to a teacher. According to Jeelani, the teacher advised him to forgive and forget, at the same time assured him that she will look into the incident. When Fatimah returned home from school at around 2pm, she complained that she was bullied. As a parent, I felt so angry. I wanted to help my children. I was feeling lost. I called the police. Fatimah made a police report concerning Ghaaziyah's threats. The police told us that they will be meeting the teachers and the bullies soon. At about 3:30pm, while Jeelani was cycling home from his remedial class at school, two of Ghaaziyah's male friends came forward and blocked Jeelani's path. They kicked his bicycle and him below the knee. One of the boys, challenged Jeelani to a fight and told him that he'll be waiting at a nearby football court. He also threatened Jeelani that he would bring along a parang for the fight. Jeelani and his friend came home and told me what had happened. I quickly rushed to the place where the boy had instructed Jeelani to meet. I confronted the boy who threatened Jeelani. He did not have any parang on him. Now, my question here is, how should I handle this situation? A police report was only lodged for Fatimah's case but not for Jeelani. Should I also make a separate report against the boys who intimidated Jeelani too? It seems the school is not taking any serious action. I want an end to all these nonsense! Please help. Thanks in advance. This first appeared as a post on the Facebook wall of the Ministry of Education on 12 August 2016. Do come forth and provide sensible advice on what her next course of action should be. |
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