The story of Carmen, a seventh grade student, is becoming more and more common in schools in Holguin and throughout Cuba. Every day she looks in the mirror and although she looks as usual, something is not right.
It’s not her clothes, her hair, or her face, it’s her look, very sad, full of fear and uncertainty, with a desire to disappear. A few extra pounds have become the target of taunts at her school, increasingly cruel, viral comments reproduced in text messages, cartoons and hurtful insults.
Her life at 13 has become a kind of meme, a cruel joke, a collective mockery. She stopped being Carmen to be arbitrarily called “La gorda”. She only longs to be one more, to go unnoticed, but every day when she arrives at school she becomes the center of looks, laughter and complicit whispering. This brought with it more and more repeated absences, loss of interest in learning, bad sleep and worse food. She began to feel excluded, with no reason to live.
Today I speak of Carmen, but she could well have another name or gender, that particularity is variable, but the suffering is only one: bullying. That is why every May 2nd is commemorated the International Day against Bullying or School Harassment, to raise awareness of the serious risk that this represents.
Not in vain is it considered one of the epidemics of this century. The same that is estimated to cause multiple deaths directly annually and affects one in three children and young people globally. Perhaps the biggest mistake we adults make is in believing that it is something normal among children, or worse, that it will pass, because it is something momentary, typical of their age.
Behind every case of bullying, it is most likely that there is an older person who did not know how to see the signs of the abused or the abuser. Who did not want to listen or simply preferred not to get involved.
It cannot be that because of hatred or a pattern learned at home or in the family. A child or young person believes he or she is superior to another because of the way he or she looks, dresses, wears or eats. The need to have a leading role cannot be a motive for mockery, at the expense of the welfare of another classmate.
Bullying is not forgotten and any of our children can be its victim at any time. Although bullying does not occur in all schools, it has become a terrible danger for children and young people. We can tell if someone is being verbally or physically assaulted when they behave with poor school performance, symptoms of depression, low self-esteem and in the worst cases, the desire to attempt against their life.
As a society, before being a problem, we must be a solution, we must become the outstretched hand, the safe shoulder, the voice that says I am here to help you. Bullying prevention is not only an educational task, but a profound act of love, understanding and hope.
Bullying can have devastating effects on the mental and emotional health of victims. Confronting it not only helps them, but also contributes to the general welfare of the community, promoting values such as respect, inclusion and solidarity.
Translated by Aliani Rojas Fernández
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