A heartbreaking video has gone viral on social media which was shot by an Australian mother of her young son crying and saying he wants to kill himself because of the constant bullying he faces at school because of his height.
Through the video, the mother brings out the impact of bullying on children. Yarraka Bayles had picked up Quaden, her nine-year-old son, from his school in Brisbane on Wednesday. In the video, the boy, who appears to have Dwarfism, is in his school uniform and is seen leaning on the car seat. He sobs uncontrollably as he says, “Give me a rope, I’m going to kill myself.”
“I’ve just picked up my son from school, witnessed a bullying episode, rang the principal, and I want people (to) know, parents, educators teachers, this is the effects that bullying has, this is what bullying does,” Bayles can be heard as her son looks up her.
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“I just want to stab myself in the heart. I want someone to kill me,” Quaden said.
Quaden’s mother said she saw a student patting him on his head and making fun of his height.
“He ran to his car in hysterics because he doesn’t want me to make a scene at the school. I feel like I’m failing as a parent. I feel like the education system is failing,” Bayles said.
The mother int the video makes an appeal to other parents and schools to educate children on the serious consequences of bullying, which may, like in her son’s case, even make them suicidal.
“This is the impact bullying has on a nine-year-old that just wants to go to school, get an education, have fun. Every single day, something happens…another episode, another bullying, another name-calling… . Is there any advice or any support or anything that other parents or families have done to raise disability awareness within the school so that this kind of thing doesn’t happen?” she asks.
“I want people to know how much it’s hurting us as a family. I want people to educate their children,” the mother says.
Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman posted a heartfelt video on his Twitter and captioned it “You’ve got a friend in me”. In the video, he says, “Bullying is not OK. Period.”
Quaden – you’ve got a friend in me. #BeKind @LokelaniHiga https://t.co/8dr3j2z8Sy pic.twitter.com/jyqtZYC953
— Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) February 20, 2020
Meanwhile, a page GoFundMe has also been put up to crowdfund Quaden’s trip to Disneyland and so far over $438,343 (Rs 3.1 crore) have been raised for Quaden.