PeoplesPost

Recently, a young boy at Sacs was allegedly pinned down by six prefects in front of a maggot infested manhole. The incident traumatised the young boy so much that he wet his pants.

The prefects have appeared in front of a disciplinary hearing at school, but the school is not obliged to divulge to the public any of the steps that were taken to discipline the boys.

Most schools keep mum about the situation, because they would not like to be labelled as a school with bullies.

The Department of Education also does not have clear guidelines on how to deal the issue and in a comment from the spokesperson of the department, each school can deal with the issue as they see fit.

One can ask the question: "What does a boy from Sacs and a prefect system in a private school have in common with Retreat?"

Plenty, I say. Recently, an old woman in Retreat lost her fight to stay in her home that she had lived in for 17 years, because she succumbed to the bullies in her own house.

Now she lives in a squatter camp and at 60 years old she has very little chance of ever owning a home.

One man in Capricorn is regularly taunted and beaten up by a group of his neighbours who own the shebeen next to his home, because of religious beliefs. Now he lives in fear of his life.

So what can one do? No-one will ever give you power to stop a bully. Power is not given, it is taken.

I think a combination of various measures can work. Firstly, confront the situation. Bullies tend to victimise people who are not by nature confrontational.

Then, find out who the right person is to talk to. Sometimes what you say is as important as who you say it to.

Then, it is very important to become knowledgable about your situation and about your rights. Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance will smack you on your way out the door.

Finally, action and determination. If you feel you are being wronged, take action. It is only when we deal with our fears that we can bring them down to size.

Bullies really make me angry. In and article I wrote about school bullying, an expert on the matter told me that there is something abnormal about the make-up of the person: The bully is trying to replace a feeling that they do not receive at home.

And then I remembered a boy who sat behind me at school, who constantly used to bump my desk. Years later, I bumped into him selling fruit on the side of the road. I need to admit I had mixed emotions, but did I feel sorry for him. I wondered, how could someone once so full of power end up so unnoticed?