9-Year Old
Syrian Refugee Commits Suicide After Being Bullied At School In Canada
On March 6,
Aref Alshteiwi came home to discover the
body of his daughter, Amal, in her bedroom.
they are now a family of six and are still dealing with the sting and shock of the tragedy.
The family came to Canada as government-sponsored refugees three years ago, fleeing war in Syria where they describe bombs being dropped over their home.
But the peace they found in Canada has now being replaced with more trauma. The family said Amal would come home from school distraught and tell them she was being bullied.
“They were bullying her all the time there, telling her, ‘You are ugly, you are not beautiful,’” Alshteiwi said through a translator.
“Two weeks before she moved from that school to another school, kids came to her and said, ‘Even if you move to another school they are not going to love you. The kids or the teacher. Wherever you go, you better just go and kill yourself,’” Amal’s mother Nasra Abdulrahman said, also talking through a translator.
Police attended the home on the day Amal died but said there wasn’t enough evidence to launch a criminal investigation into the bullying allegations.
The couple said it raised concerns with the Calgary school their daughter attended but Amal never got the help she needed.
The Calgary Board of Education said it “found there was no indication of bullying nor was any concern raised to the school,” following an investigation.
“The area office has worked closely with the school principal to gather information from teachers, staff and students to try to understand if there were concerns or issues,” the CBE said.
they are now a family of six and are still dealing with the sting and shock of the tragedy.
The family came to Canada as government-sponsored refugees three years ago, fleeing war in Syria where they describe bombs being dropped over their home.
But the peace they found in Canada has now being replaced with more trauma. The family said Amal would come home from school distraught and tell them she was being bullied.
“They were bullying her all the time there, telling her, ‘You are ugly, you are not beautiful,’” Alshteiwi said through a translator.
“Two weeks before she moved from that school to another school, kids came to her and said, ‘Even if you move to another school they are not going to love you. The kids or the teacher. Wherever you go, you better just go and kill yourself,’” Amal’s mother Nasra Abdulrahman said, also talking through a translator.
Police attended the home on the day Amal died but said there wasn’t enough evidence to launch a criminal investigation into the bullying allegations.
The couple said it raised concerns with the Calgary school their daughter attended but Amal never got the help she needed.
The Calgary Board of Education said it “found there was no indication of bullying nor was any concern raised to the school,” following an investigation.
“The area office has worked closely with the school principal to gather information from teachers, staff and students to try to understand if there were concerns or issues,” the CBE said.
No comments:
Post a Comment