Note:
All names have been changed to protect the privacy of those
involved, especially the victims.
A tragic
end to an education that had barely begun - 13 year old Kiki stopped schooling
because her classmates used to make fun of her relentlessly. They had
accidentally discovered her humble background, her father being a street
vendor. In another case, 15 - year old Dinda could not take it anymore. She
became depressed, left school and stayed at home because she was constantly
teased by her classmates for failing in junior high school.
And in
yet another, more recent case, some senior students of a junior high school
took seven junior students, and subjected them to violent beatings. Sherry, one
of the junior students, was rushed to hospital with bruises on his abdomen. He
is extremely scared to go to school. Julie, a 10 year old, fifth grade student,
states that her first two years elementary school were a traumatic experience.
She sadly remembers being cruelly bullied by her male classmates because she
was overweight. They used to call her Sumatran
elephant, baboon, gentong and many other names.
These are
few cases out of hundreds of similar cases and the number is increasing over
the time. In Indonesia bullying exists in every form, from teasing to extreme
abuse. Even though incidents of bullying are common, unfortunately it is not
seen as a major problem. A recent survey conducted by National Child Protection
Commission has shown that more than half of bullying incidents go unreported
due to the fact that it is considered normal in some parts of the society. Also
the people who get bullied are either unwilling to report it because they feel
it will "make a big deal". Or worse, they are so scared that they
don't trust anyone and do not want to share their plight with anyone (http://www.asianewsnet.net/news-34263.html).
The issue of bullying has been a problem for years but recently it got
limelight from news media when few cases were reported.
Bullying
affects the children both psychologically and physically. It is estimated that
hundreds of children miss school every day due to the fear of being mistreated
by other students and in some extreme cases they choose to home school, or in
severe circumstances they stop studying altogether (http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/facts-on-bullying.html).
Children
should not be living in constant fear. They shouldn't be afraid. On the
contrary, they should look forward to every day of school and enjoy school
life. According to a research bullying has always existed in Indonesian
society, but it has come to surface due to the recent proliferation of media
technologies (Craig, 2009). Since bullying is prevalent in our society it is
important that everyone should be made aware of this social evil. There should
be campaigns to increase awareness. Everyone should be working together,
against it, to stop it. It is distressing to see our children being isolated
from society because they are treated badly. In my opinion, no one has any
right to harass or make people feel inferior. No one should have that kind of
power. These children are our future and we should make every possible effort
to stop bullying.
I would
like to point out that bullying is everyone's problem and responsibility. If
you condone bullying in any way, shape or form it means you are taking part in
it whether it is directly or indirectly by being silent. Majority of people
agree that we have to work together towards eliminating this problem.
Some
people may consider taunting someone as a funny thing. Little taunts can create
a lot of pain and suffering. When it may seem innocent but the cumulative
effect could be highly damaging. In addition to that, as the pain increases,
each instance cuts a little deeper which eventually becomes a sore.
It is
highly possible that bullying might happen in your school so it is the
liability of every student to protect their classmates and try to stop
bullying. If it doesn't work then you should inform your teachers or parents.
Not many
of us think of stopping it. As long as it doesn't happen to us why should we
get involved, why should we bother? But the time has come for us to be actively
involved in eradicating bullying (Farrington, 1993).
So next
time if you see someone getting bullied, would you try to stop it or let it
happen? Remember, bullying is everyone's problem; therefore everyone has to be
the part of the solution.
Adopted from Bahasa Inggris Kelas XI SMA/MA/SMK/MAK Semester 1.
Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan 2014.
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