Are you too pretty to be in school?

First published on Indymedia

Attention all Polish girls, I have a very serious question for you. Are you too pretty to exist in Irish schools? You may want to look hard in the mirror and be honest with yourself, as it seems that being female, pretty and Polish are not a good mix; well, that is, if you go to certain districts of London and Nottingham at least.

The Curse of Jealousy

Polish newspaper Zycie Warszawy reported on Friday that a pretty blonde Polish teenage girl in London's Acton district suffered so much bullying from her female classmates for distracting the boys' attention from them, that her family decided to move back to Poland. What's more, Polish boys and British boys are having fisty-cuffs in their attempts to win over the hearts of the most beautiful Poles in their schools.

Magda Kwiatkowska turned the heads of local boys the moment she began to attend her new school in Acton. But the poor girl soon developed anaemia, depression, ulcers and Crone's Disease - an illness of the digestive system, after the threats and bullying became more severe. Her dad said, "my daughter was terrorised by other girls who the boys no longer paid attention to. She begged me to pick her up on time after school and was afraid to walk around town alone."




After changing school the problems only continued and eventually the family decided to pack up their bags and head back home. Magda is now receiving assistance to overcome the trauma of being bullied for, well, just being herself.
But the problem hasn't departed Britain since Magda left, as Zycie Warszawy also report that gangs of Polish and British boys have been involved in scuffles in Lincoln, near Nottingham, to win over the hearts of their local Polish godesses.

I hope the girls have more sense than to fall for any of them but have the courage to report any bullying and taunting they receive.

Report in English

School Violence

Of course bullying is just one of a number of issues that schoolchildren face on a daily basis. Racism is a huge ongoing issue to be addressed through and challenged early on in the education system. The harrassing of this girl is worrisome also in the context of a number of violent incidents which have occured here in Poland in the recent past. Magda may have fled Britian with her family for a safer haven but recent statistics about violent incidences in Polish schools don't exactly back up the prospect of her move being any better.

Gdansk tragedy

A teenage girl committed suicide in December '06 in Gdansk after her male classmates pulled down her pants when the teacher had left the classroon, molested her and took photos of themselves via mobile phones simulating raping her, then threatened to post them onto the internet. Yhe whole episode lasted about 20 minutes and directly involved about 5 boys. The girl fled home and hung herself the following day with a skipping rope.

Testimony

"Sexual harassment, intimidation, groping and even rape are the order of the day for Polish schoolgirls like me," wrote a teenage girl from Cracow in a letter to the Gazeta Wyborcza daily. "No one wants to know about it, neither the school nor the parents, nor the police. What's more, none of my girl friends would ever think of telling the teacher or a family member about these things, not to mention the police. We usually keep this to ourselves because asking others for help won't do any good. It's always us, girls, who are blamed anyway. I'm not even using my own computer to write this e-mail, because I know what the consequences might be."

Speaking Up, Speaking Out

The ongoing silence of school violence needs to be broken. I can only hope that Irish girls and boys realise that they do not need to suffer this bullying alone, and that there are services to help and people who will listen once they take the first brave step and admit that they have fallen foul to the ugly side of human nature.

More at the Warsaw Voice

Anti-Bullying Links:

Anti-Bullying Centre in Trinity College DublinAnti-Bullying

Beat Bullying

Fight Bullying

What would be interesting to find out here is whether any Polish (or other) schoolgoers have fallen victim to bullying in Irish schools or harrassment in the workplace for that matter? Have they felt sufficiently supported at home or in the school to begin dealing with and resolving the issue?