KEETMANSHOOP – Pupils at PK de Villiers Secondary School in the southern Namibia, in collaboration with subject experts, recently launched a campaign against bullying, especially at school. 

Senfaria Motinga, a Grade 10 pupil, said she had experienced bullying at school before. 

“It was seriously affecting me to an extent that I lost interest in all school activities as well as those outside school but eventually, I overcome it,” she said.

As part of measures to counter bullying at school, she recommended the implementation of activities that boost the self-esteem among pupils. 

Motinga said another way would be to encourage bullies to become better persons in life without bringing others down. 

Grade 11 pupil Frans Muzinga said when he was at primary school, his peers used to call him distasteful names, and in the process, bullied him. 

“Victims of bullying should open up and report it to a counsellor or their life skills teacher so that it can be addressed accordingly,” he advised other pupils during the campaign. 

Also speaking at the event, Yaandre Frey, a Unam student, said she is actively involved in the campaign since too many pupils had committed suicide after being subjected to bullying.

“It is normally factors like rage, anger, taking revenge and wanting to be in control, that lead to persons turning into bullies,” she explained to pupils. 

Frey said pupils who bully others normally grow up to become ill-disciplined adults who cause physical and psychological harm to others in the process.  

Youth activist Queen Pieters, said bullies normally have no remorse or empathy towards their victims and regard it as a power play where they can diminish those not on the same level with them. 

“When bullied, you should, however, not retaliate but rather address it through self-affirmation,” she advised.

Reverend Zezito Epifanio highlighted signs to be recognised in bullies as finding it difficult to make friends or have healthy relationships with others.

“They normally feel worthless, rejected, being misused by others or experiencing gender-based violence at home, “ he added. 

This publication recently reported on an 11-year-old boy who committed suicide because of bullying at school. 

According to a family member, the boy went to school that fateful day and collected his first-semester report. Two older boys wearing masks then tore up his report, also removed his shirt, and tore it. 

When the boy returned home, he went into the bathroom, and hanged himself with a rope. 

- sklukowski@nepc.com.na