いじめには毅然(きぜん)とした対応を

By Agnes Chan

　昨年10月に滋賀県大津市の市立中学2年生の男子生徒がいじめを受けて自殺したとされる事件。学校や教育委員会の対応が非難され、7月からは滋賀県警大津署が生徒らへの事情聴取を始めました。子どもの人権に特に敏感なアグネスさんは、学校におけるいじめと、それを助長する風潮に断固として異を唱えます。そして、いじめの被害に遭ったら「助けを求めましょう」と訴えます。

　Last October, a 13-year-old junior high student committed suicide in Otsu. The reason behind his death is said to be bullying. Both the school and the Board of Education initially refused to admit that bullying by three of the boy's classmates was the main reason for the suicide.

　The parents of the victim sued the city, the three classmates and their parents. Investigations revealed new facts about what happened.

　The school carried out surveys and asked other students whether they were aware that something was wrong. However, until the investigation, they held back witnesses to the bullying. I was appalled by the brutality of the bullying. The boy was, reportedly, not only physically beaten, but was forced to eat dead bees, shoplift and repeatedly practice suicide. It is said that he turned over to his tormentors a total of 400,000 yen, which he withdrew from his bank account and stole from his parents and relatives.

　Imagine how hard and humiliating it must have been for him to face life that way. According to testimony, the classmates came to his house three days before his death, ransacked his room and stole his wallet.

　The school insisted that these acts were simply fights among the boys and not bullying. One of the classmates' mothers argued that the boys were merely "playing."

　In tune with their parents, all three students denied any wrongdoing, and said they were just playing games. Somebody died, but assuming the allegations of bullying are true, the people responsible are unable to feel pain because they are busy protecting themselves.

寛容の精神は大人が手本に

　Bullying is no game. It is a violation of human rights and can be punished by law. Even when the offenders are minors that does not mean that they should get away with it. In this case, a precious life was lost. We need to take the incident seriously.

　The adults totally failed the children. Teachers were not able to protect the boy from being bullied, and they were not able to teach children not to hurt others. Even after a student from the same school told teachers about what was going on, they did not stop the bullies nor punish them. Parents failed to stop their children from hurting the boy, and are still trying to run away from responsibility. If the adults cannot face the truth and repent, we cannot expect children to do the same.

　We must not let this happen again and must have "zero tolerance" for bullying. Be it at schools, homes or workplaces. I challenge all teachers to combat this problem. Look carefully at your school for signs of bullying and make sure that no one gets hurt again. Teach and discipline the bullies well so they understand that it is a crime and under no circumstances can bullying be tolerated.

　I challenge parents, including myself, to pledge to join in the fight against bullying. Let us talk to our children about bullying. We must make sure our children are not the aggressors, and if they are, we must tell them how wrong it is and teach them repent and turn over a new leaf.

　If our children see bullying in school, make sure they report it to the school, to us, and to the police. If our children are being bullied, tell them how precious they are and help them get out of the situation. If the situation at school is hopeless, changing schools, or staying home is a better option than continuous suffering.

　To set good examples for our children, as adults, we must respect one another, love one another and value one another's life. Our children will not take our words seriously unless we can show them how to do it.

　Finally, if you are the target of bullying, please do not be afraid to reach out for help. Remember, there is no shame in telling the truth because that is the right thing to do. You are not alone and there will be wonderful things in store for you once the situation is resolved. There are thousands of people out there wanting to help you, including me. If there is no one else to talk to, I am just one Google search away.