Stand together against bullying
MATRIC learner Mokwena Thakgalang, 19, from Lehaiwa Senior Secondary School, said she was tired of being bullied because of her skin colour at school by her classmates.
Mokwena could not take the bullying any more until she decided to reach out for help when she went on Facebook and wrote to radio presenter Makwena “Kwenisto” Makgakga and asked him to post her story for the world to see the things that she faces every day when she goes to school.
“This started while I was in Grade 10 when other learners made fun of my skin colour; they would look at me as if I was disgusting and say things like ‘o motala thwi’ and you have pimples on your face ‘diya re xiximixa’, meaning that you are too dark and the pimples on your face are scaring us,” said Thagalong.
She said that she took it as a joke until it got so bad that she ended up buying skin-lightening products, hoping that if she became light-skinned, the bullying would stop. Her peers had made her lose all the confidence she had in herself.
“As each day went by, the situation would get worse to the point where I would find my name posted all over the toilets, until one day I lost my temper and fought with one of the learners at my school, and a teacher heard the noise and rushed to stop the fight,” she said.
Thakalang said that last Thursday, an offensive message about her private parts was written at the school.
She said that she went to report the case to the principal, and he told her to tell a female teacher to handle the situation, where no one admitted to having wrote it.
Trending on Facebook, Mokwena’s story reached a lot of people such as Reginah Moloto, a radio presenter for Mohodi FM situated in Mohodi Ga-Manthata-Senwaba, and Malome Nakedi, who is well known and helps with problems faced by the community.
“We got her contacts through her cousin on May 13, which was the day she decided to break the silence on social media. (This was possible) with the help of different organisations, including the most influential person in Mohodi, Nakedi Depyane, known by many as Malome Nakedi.
“Through Malome Nakedi’s influence, he tagged me on the story that was trending on social media and insisted that we visit the school. I did not have the idea of going but rather broadcasting it, as I am also a media professional.
“We tabled a programme to raise awareness, and indeed it turned gold, since we noticed that what we did touched a lot of people that day,” she said.
“At the school, we addressed learners about bullying and told them to focus on their studies,” said Moloto.
Mokwena said: “I believe that the bullying will stop, and I do not wish for any learner to go through the same situation”.