Bullying at school

Over the past few days most people will have heard about the twelve-year-old boy who was set upon by a group and abused over a long stretch of time, which left him with severe psychological trauma. His teachers, his family and his friends did not see how serious it had become until he began to panic — screaming without stopping, no longer recognising his own relatives, no longer remembering who he was, pointing at his parents and saying “good thug”, “bad thug”…

It brought to mind a book I love very much: “Nobody!: A Story About Overcoming Bullying in Schools”.

In the book, a boy named Thomas is bullied for a long time by Kyle, someone from his school. Thomas, who used to love drawing, collecting insects and playing football, turns irritable and fearful, and comes to hate every one of the things he once loved, because of the taunts telling him he is useless, hopeless, different — that he is “NOBODY”. Over time all of that criticism builds a new “identity” for Thomas. Imagine how frightening that would be even for an adult.

There is a turning point in the story that I really love: the moment Thomas changes the story he has been telling himself. Being different is not a bad thing at all — being different is what makes Thomas himself and nobody else. And only once THOMAS LEARNS TO RESPECT HIMSELF does the world truly change. If Thomas had not begun to respect and to believe in himself, violence in any of its forms could never have come to an end.

And when you spend time with children, you know that there is a great deal we can do.