Thoughts on viral video of Syrian refugee being bullied

AS

Annie Shafi
on

I came across a really disturbing viral video of school kid bullying a Syrian refugee kid who came over to the UK under a UN resettlement program. All kinds of bullying are disturbing and not tolerated but a child who has had to flee his country due to the threat of bombs dropping and fearing for their safety to come here and face bullying and harassment made my heart sink.

Like the Syrian boy, children that go into foster care are vulnerable too.  A foster child loses his home, family and friends and the general support network they have and are temporarily placed outside of their environment and comfort zone.

Its horrible for any child that is getting bullied and we as parents/guardians should make sure we offer our support to the child firstly by listening to the child of their worries and concerns. We also have to make sure we are approachable so the child feels confident in speaking to us in regards to their problems and issues.

When I say support the child that does in no way or form mean to carry out any abuse towards the bully as you have to remember the bully is a child also. Just like the bullied child needs support so does the bully although the support for the two would slightly differ.

It is always necessary to see that at the end of the day both people in this predicament are children and the issue should be handled that of two children. If you see it from a parents perspective, your child could easily fall on either end of the spectrum, not that all children are bullies. They could either be the bully or the one being bullied.  Sometimes the bully can be someone who has suffered some sort of trauma or is vulnerable and his way of expressing is through bullying. Its important to find out the root cause ofo the issue in order to help and in all cases both have issues and need help and support.

So whilst everyone is lost in the emotions of outrage as to what has transpired and the school has allowed for the bullying to take place. we as a community should not fall for the outrage but see how can we as a community come together and tackle out bullying. How can we bring in and make our community whole and united, so they feel accepted whether they are refugees or foster children, What role do we play? is the question we should be asking ourselves. and lastly, just remember that the people involved in the incident are children and as adults, we should take appropriate measures to make sure bullying is stamped out by offering support for both the victim and the bully.

More posts like this