Ya see dis bullying thing dat continuing tuh happen in we schools while evahbody only talking ’bout it all the time?
Wunna gine wait and wait and talk and talk while innocent defenceless li’l children go tuh school day in and day out and get beat by other spiteful, angry, disgusting children?
Wunna see dis lot o’ bullying dat got some children frighten tuh go tuh school because they know dat somebody gine demand duh lunch money, and if duh doan give it up, duh gine get roughed up; but duh still frighten tuh tell duh parents because duh frighten fuh de bullies?
Wunna see how early it starting? Wunna realize yet dat it aint only happening in de big schools nuh more?
Yesterday I went tuh pick up my two nephews from primary school and was watching four children playing around a pole – two boys and two girls.
One o’ de boys was very tough looking but very, very short and didn’t look nuh more than five years old. Yet he kept cuffing and kicking one o’ de girls, who was way taller and bigger than he, all up in she back. And de more de girl say aiee or stop, de more he was doing it.
I get suh damn vex dat I get out o’ my car and went fuh he and tell he tuh behave heself; if he would like somebody tuh kick and cuff he up so.
Clearly, de li’l girl aint nuh fighter. She came up tuh me and I tell her dat she has no right letting anybody do dat tuh her and all de li’l girl could say, wid tears in her eyes, is: “I kept telling him tuh stop and he did it worse. He kicked me on my finger and it is really hurting.”
I aint telling you nuh lie, hear. I did feel like making dat little girl kick he and cuff he like he was doing tuh her.
Look, it aint gine go away just so. If de principals of de schools and de Ministry of Education doan see dis sort o’ thing as a serious issue and make dis problem a priority tuh be dealt wid, some family member or some father gine get real, real igrant when duh realize dat wunna just dragging wunna foot and only talking, while duh children gine school evah single day and suffering at de hands of other children.
I remember de li’l boy up dey in St Philip who duh say run cross de road tuh get away from some bullies and get knocked down by a car and died; den there was de li’l boy who some wicked brutes take and hang up in de basketball net.
Dese are de ones dat stand out in my mind but I know dat there are many more – and now this li’l five-year-old girl wid her hand broken in two places.
I aint know ’bout wunna, right, but as a parent, aunt and grandmother, if anything happens tuh any o’ my li’l people at school, I gine go tuh de principal o’ de school first.
If I doan get nuh kinda satisfaction, I gine tuh de ministry and if dat doan bring me de satisfaction I want, I gine tuh de parents of de child or children fuh my satisfaction.
Now if all o’ dah fail and I aint see nuhbody doing anything ’bout my problem, I gine tell ya now! I aint gine back tuh nuh ministry fuh dem tuh put me tuh sit down and fill out nuh complaint papers and guh through nuh red tape; it just aint gine end so. I gine have tuh deal wid it my way ’cause nuhbody cahn say dat I aint went through de right channels.
As I said last week, I have a li’l nephew who just did de 11-Plus exam and whose marks only took him tuh a school he hates and one dat is known fuh fighting and bad behaviour. Uh mean, I really hate the thought of him going there but dat is de school de marks took him tuh.
I aint saying dat he perfect but he is really a special child; a very peaceful, gentle, fun-loving child; he aint got an aggressive bone in he body. You would have tuh really provoke him fuh him tuh retaliate.
Anyway, the other day I was talking tuh his father and was telling him dat I hope nuhbody doan go picking pon him or interfering wid him when he starts school ’cause I aint gine wait nor stay. I tell him dat from de time I hear, I coming and it aint gine take me too long tuh get there neither.
But ting, before I could finish what I was saying good, the man cut me off and let me know straight dat I aint gine get there before he, dat nuhbody aint gine beat up he child at school and he sit back and wait pon satisfaction.
Wunna understand what I mean now when I say dat if de ministry, principals or whoever is responsible fuh dese schools doan do something ’bout dese bullies hurting people children now, somebody gine take matters into their own hands and it aint gine be pretty.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
