Poor Boy!

By Mabi Azefor Fominyen

My nanny showed up for work this morning but a few minutes later she told me her son couldn't sleep last night. When I asked why, she went on to explain that the boy had been attacked in school by a group of friends while they were playing and forced a stick of match into his ear. The pain was unbearable and the little boy couldn't help but cry all night while she watched helplessly.

I was touched! Deeply touched.

Poor boy!

Consequently, I advised her to take some time off work to enable her take the boy to the hospital and to look after him till he gets better

As she left I sat back thinking. How on earth do kids get to plan and carry out such acts against one of theirs? What actually happened? Could it have been an accident? Just how could such an act and other related incidents that often occur in some schools be curbed? Who takes the blame?

I began to ask myself many questions about some of the things that happen each day in some schools without the knowlegde of the teachers nor the parents.

Oh ! How can I ever forget the big guys back in my primary school days who used to bully the very young and perhaps-chicken hearted schoolmates. They used to seize their snacks and lunch boxes and eat everything! These bullies used to beat up others on their way from school for refusing to help them out with their class work. Academically, they were the very weak ones but they had a lot of physical strength which they often used to their advantage.

In most cases very few pupils had the courage to oppose to the demands of the bullies. They were feared by many. As such, acts of violence and related cases hardly ever got to the knowlegde of the headmaster nor to the parents except for extreme cases.

As a parent, I tell my children to keep off the "bad guys" and "bad girls" in school ( referring to the bullies, the hot -tempered friend and the "lazy girls/boys" of the class). I equally encourage them to stay away from any" trouble spot" but above all; to speak up and report any threats plus any form of abuse or violence.