Sikh Helpline

BULLYING: The Tragic Story of a Sikh Boy

DID YOU KNOW?
	50% of people have been bullied in school.
	Bullying causes psychiatric injury, a feature of which is reactive depression.
	At least 16 children commit bullycide in the UK every year .
	Many Sikh children have been the subject of racial abuse because they look different.
	At least 1 Sikh student has committed suicide in the UK because of racial abuse. Read his poem below......

"Racism also manifests itself in teachers failing to take racist bullying seriously, even after tragedies such as the suicide of schoolboy Vijay Singh. There are still a huge number of cases of racist bullying, which have been dealt with improperly. this includes a case where a Sikh secondary school pupil was attacked by a number of other pupils, leaving him with a broken arm. His assailants were left unpunished and continue to verbally and physically abuse him. To maintain order, he has been excluded from socialising at school and has received complaints from teachers for highlighting inadequacies in his treatment."

THE BULLY

Poem By H Singh

Dedicated to Vijay Singh, aged 13, who hung himself at home in Manchester, after being bullied at school.

Racist ruffian, low-down scum
Foul mouthed thug do you think its fun
To beet up a kid who's half your size?
Knock his turban and punch his eyes
He gets good grades and it makes you sick
turban-head's clever and you're so thick.
You push and punch and steal his lunch
You swing your fist his nose goes crunch
Bleeding Paki! Bloody Paki!
Swear a lot then steal his money
Grab his arms - push him to the wall
Punch! Crunch! He takes the fall
Kick! Spit! Watch him crawl
Walk away from his crying call.
Lessons start at the school from hell
Classroom's more like a prison cell
Sitting in his blood stained clothes
Tears in his eyes and a busted nose
Bully boys don't stop their taunting
No teacher saw his daily haunting
No teacher said you're a lion Singh
Be BRAVE, be STRONG but never give in
School bell rings:"Bye-Bye friends I ain't coming to hell again!"
Running home as fast as he can
No one knows his secret plan
Up the stairs for freedom call
He escapes from his body walls
Free at last from the violence
Hangs himself in deathly silence.
Where he ends we begin
Bullies won't kill another Singh
Unite as CHILDREN make the change
Don't let things stay the same
We want freedom - no more crime
We want freedom all the time
No more Singhs will die this way
Unite as CHILDREN - fight them today!
CHILDREN UNITE
IT'S TIME TO FIGHT
THE BULLY BOYS
THE RACIST NOISE
DON'T LIVE IN DREAD
TELL THE TEACHER INSTEAD
YOU'RE NOT ALONE
LET YOUR TROUBLES BE KNOWN