weighing in on ....... - is it okay for refugees to be welcomed and then bullied

Recently, a girl called Shukri Abdi from Greater Manchester was found dead at the bottom of a river. News reports claimed to have said she had drowned. She was a Somalian Refugee who settled in the UK with her family and built a home here for herself. It was said by her family that Shukri had been bullied for months prior to her tragic death.

Her tragic death has posed a lot of questions and some important conversations that need to be made, urgently about refugees in the UK and bullying.

When I heard about the news regarding Shukri Abdi, my heart broke for her parents and family, who are now grieving their daughter's tragic death. But an thought came to mind.The incident reminded me of an incident I discussed in my Newsroom lecture back in November of last year.

In November of 2018, a video surfaced over the internet of a 15 year old Syrian refugee being bullied by having water poured over his head by a 16 year old bully, in Huddersfield. Alike to Shukri Abdi, the Syrian boy named Jamal settled in the UK escaping the brutal dictatorship of Bashar Al Assad, seeking an better life in the UK. The commonalities between these two cases are not hard to see, one being the victims involved are both refugees, Muslim, from an ethnic minority within the UK and victims of 'BULLYING'!

Everyone at some point in their life becomes victim to 'BULLYING', but when it occurs to victims who have already fallen victim to other tragic occurrences like civil war, human rights violations or refugees being forced to flee their countries to avoid prosecution for their political or religious beliefs or ethnicity, there begins to be a dangerous line crossed of simple ethic and morals.

These tragic events have caused schools to re-evaluate their bullying policies and how effective they really are. However, the question people are failing to ask is, Why are there not any policies put in place for refugees who find it difficult to adjust to living within the country? It bewilders me to understand the reason behind bullying and isolating individuals who may struggle to adjust within a completely different culture already.

Although I have never faced bullying to this degree, it is fair to say all of us have faced bullying at some point of our childhood. However, a running trend within the media, which I feel ashamed about is, is the lack of support and coverage there is for stories like this. These are some what documented, however there is a proportion of children in the UK as well as around the world, who are failing to speak up about the problems they face with adjusting to an culture different from their own and being quite frankly a little different, due to their race or religion.

I'm proud to be a British Indian and I take pride in the country I live in. The freedom of expression and the safe environment I get to live in. I am able to practice my religion freely while living without any fear. So I honestly feel that if someone else is given this chance, who are we to destroy this opportunity! It doesn't matter what side you are on of the Refugee debate, but what does matter is how we treat one another!

Self Love can make you stronger!

Secondary school within the UK is a large part of your life. For me, Secondary school was where I became the person I am today. I know! That sounds soppy, but its true! And being bullied was definitely a part that made me stronger as a person. My physical features weren't perfect (i had a monobrow, lol), I was the only hijab wearing girl in my year group and my self esteem went from like, 100 leaving primary to -1000 in secondary! But, I pulled through! Its hard, but have a little cry and move on! You're not perfect and that's what will make you who you are! Don't condition yourself to be quieter or louder than you are! Don't condition yourself to be the image people want you to be, just be you! If your eyebrows are bushy AF, who gives a shit! Rock it like this hunty!

You will get to a point in your life where you will say, I'm glad that happened!

Just thought I would end this blog post with a bit of self love, for anyone who life is trying them right now!

I do want to talk more about my secondary school experience, so may do a whole post about it, spilling the tea!

Hope you guys have great day! Always make sure to love yourself !

#selflove #refugeeswelcome #justiceforshukriabdi #motivation #loveyourself #blogger