Over $170,000 raised for bullied Syrian refugee teen after video of alleged incident goes viral
LONDON -- A crowdfunding page for a Syrian refugee in the U.K. has raised over $170,000 after a video of the 15-year-old boy being bullied at school went viral.
The footage, shot at Almondbury Community School in the city of Huddersfield, shows the boy, identified as Jamal, being taunted and pinned to the ground. Water is then forcibly poured onto his face by another pupil. Neither of the boys' full names can be named for legal reasons.
The online video sparked widespread outrage on social media, and a GoFundMe page to support the boy and his family has hit $170,000, with donations still pouring in. The page also says that the victim has been subject to appalling levels of bullying for months alongside his younger sister.
Police said they are investigating the incident, and have interviewed the alleged perpetrator of the attack.
"Regarding the assault on a 15-year-old youth in Almondbury, which featured in a video posted on social media yesterday and has been widely reported in the media, a 16-year-old youth has been interviewed and reported for summons, for an offence of assault," West Yorkshire Police said in a statement. “He will appear at Youth Court in due course. Safeguarding measures have been put in place for the victim and his family.”
Police also revealed they were investigating another video of a girl being assaulted at the same school. She is believed to be the younger sister of the victim, according to Sky News.
Police did not specify whether or not the incident was being treated as a hate crime.
The teenager came to the U.K. through a United Nations refugee program in 2016. He told the British network ITV News that he had been targeted by bullies since his arrival in the country.
"I was feeling unsafe everywhere -- even to go to the shop," he told ITV News. "I woke up at night and just started crying because of this problem. When I saw everyone looking at this video, I felt ashamed of myself and why it happened. I was really upset about that."
As well as condemnation of the attacker, social media users were quick to express their sympathy for the teenager.
The local member of parliament for Huddersfield, Barry Sheerman, pledged his support for the victim. He tweeted, “Video of assault against one of my constituents absolutely shocking. Have been supporting the family since it was first brought to my attention. Understand from council that the school have taken strong action. Will be following up to ensure all available support is being given!”
In a tweet, the goalkeeper for the local soccer team, Jonas Lossl of Huddersfield F.C., promised to take the teenager to a match as soon as they can get in contact.
Anti-racism campaigners HOPE not Hate said they were concerned about the incident, adding that prejudice in wider society can influence what happens in schools.
"These images were horrendous and have generated understandable outrage, as well as sympathy for the victim, across the board,” the organization’s head of education Owen Jones told ABC News. “From HOPE Not Hate’s experience of running classes in schools aimed at tackling prejudice and hate, such extreme incidents are thankfully not common.”
“Prejudice, left unchecked and often learned outside the school environment, can become part of the ‘drivers to hate’ which draws people to further bigotry and, for some, leads down the path to extremism,” he added.
