Bullied at school
Book tells of harm caused to teenager on many levels
A GRADE 10 pupil prayed for a teacher to save him from a beating at the hands of brutal bullies.
But the teacher was slow to arrive, resulting in Sandhir Kumar Sewmungal being subjected to an assault that ended only after his attackers had struck his head against a wall.
“The teacher was late coming to class, and I just remember walking away from these boys when they first started hassling me and thinking please, just let the teacher come now. No one stepped in to help.”
The incident was among many in Sewmungal’s harrowing high school career.
Now 21, Sewmungal has written about his experiences of four years of physical and verbal abuse at the hands of fellow pupils.
His book, The Unknown Journey, was released in Durban last week.
“Many times I did think ‘I give up. Let them beat me, my life is awful anyway.’ ”
Following a particularly harsh incident in Grade 11, which left Sewmungal with a broken hand, the then 17year-old decided to escape the demons of his teenage years by penning his experiences — from his first day at the unnamed all-boys’ high school to his final confrontation with the pupils who tormented him.
The taunting, he said, began almost immediately, with the older, stronger boys picking on the younger, smaller Grade 8 pupils.
Over time, he realised that he was being singled out as a favourite target.
“I don’t really know what it was. I think that because they saw I was tall and thin, it meant I wasn’t strong. They saw that I had a friendly face and thought I was weak and a pushover.”
In the book, he recalls incidents in which the older “jocks” pelted him and a group of friends with stones and orange peels and he was shoved off a spectator stand at a sports ground.
He said reliving his feelings in the book had not produced the result he expected.
“I don’t carry any hatred in me for what they did to me over the years. It made me realise that I am stronger. I know what I am capable of now.”
I don’t carry any hatred in me for what they did to me. It made me realise that I am stronger
He said the effect of the bullying on his mental health and academics had been extensive.
“My academic performance really dropped. I would say that, when you are subjected to that every day, your mind becomes damaged. You become angrier without even realising it. It’s only when you sit down and think about where you are that you see it and what it is doing to you.”
Despite the sustained abuse, he kept the incidents secret from his parents, believing that involving his family would prove that he could not “handle” his own problems.
This resulted in his experiencing even more pressure from his peers.
He hopes The Unknown Journey will be used by both children and teens facing bullying, as well as their parents.
“My family and friends played a big part in how I faced it all. I think that the family structure is very important and kids must be aware that they can talk to their families about anything.
“Parents don’t know the inside story — only the students who face it every day can understand. This book is a way to give parents that information so that they can become more aware and know what steps to take. ”
Despite his experiences, Sewmungal was determined to remain at the school even after his parents found out about the abuse.
“What I learnt was that if I left, they would have won . . .
“I know that, at the end of the day, I was the stronger one. I walked out of those school gates at the end of my matric year.”
The book is available for R120. For more information, contact Sewmungal on theunknownjourney@gmail.com or on his Facebook page, The Unknown Journey