Rehabilitate bullies

Re: “Parents slam school bullying response”, ( BP, Oct 12).

I fully agree with the parents of the 10-year-old autistic girl who was bullied at a Phayao school. The parents plan to charge the eight older girls who pulled their daughter’s hair until she cried out. They also kicked her and put their feet on her neck and face.

Bullying is a major epidemic in Thai schools. The Department of Mental Health reports that 600,000 students are bullied here each year, the second-highest rate globally.

The Phayao bullies should be sentenced to community service, working with autistic youth, learning about how they’re harming their victims and how to repair the damage, until they have in-depth knowledge of bullying and autism. Then, each bully should address the morning assembly of 10 Phayao schools, showing the two clips of their actions, before telling how they severely harmed the helpless victim and how she’s helping to make amends. A Department of Mental Health child psychologist should answer questions and evaluate each presentation. All the costs of each talk, including a per diem for the doctor, should be paid for by the bully.

Khun Thiwa, the victim’s mother, alleges that school director Nanthapol Fusrikul tried to sweep the incident under the carpet by giving her 4,000 baht and telling others that she and the bullies had agreed that the matter was settled, which she alleges was not true. If the Ministry of Education finds that her charges are valid, it should severely discipline Khun Nanthapol for not seeking to protect his charges against other bullies.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) must work urgently with the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) to prevent bullying in our schools. Let this case awaken us to what must be done by the MOE, MOPH, and, most importantly, students and their parents to cleanse us of such despicable behaviour.

BURIN KANTABUTRA