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No more tragedies: Raising awareness and preventing bullying

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This is bullying awareness and prevention week, an idea conceived by Canadian educator Bill Belsey and launched jointly by his anti-bullying organization bullying.org and the Family Channel in 2003.

We are still reeling from the news that a bullied Hamilton teenager was senselessly stabbed to death by his tormentors last month right in front of his mother who was picking him up from school.

The idea of this week is to raise awareness of bullying and foster positive relationships among kids. But with the tragic story out of Hamilton, it’s obvious much more work needs to be done.

Children should never have to go to school in fear of others physically abusing them or harassing them emotionally or online. They should be able to go to school so they can get an education without fear of being harmed in any way. This is a fundamental human right.

We must all be mindful of children’s behaviour whether they are being bullied or are the bullies themselves. As adults, it is our duty to listen to them, pay attention to them and take action so we can prevent another tragedy from ever happening again. One child lost to bullying is one child too many.

In solidarity,

Warren (Smokey) Thomas, President
Eduardo (Eddy) Almeida, First Vice-President/Treasurer