BULLY BREAKS BOY’S ARM

Sangre Grande police are said to be investigating the incident which has left Tristan Khan warded at the Sangre Grande District Hospital after undergoing emergency surgery yesterday where surgeons attempted to repair the damaged socket so that Tristan could hopefully regain use of his arm. Only time will tell if the surgery was a success.

Distraught mother Shareefa Ali, posted photos of her son lying on a gurney at hospital, to her Facebook account, generating hundreds of comments.

Tristan was playing with friends at the Mayaro Recreation Ground during his school’s second recess break at 2 pm on Wednesday when the bully spotted him and attacked. The bully stamped on Tristan’s back, sending him sprawling to the ground.

As he lay helpless, Tristan was cuffed and kicked by the boy who then began to jump up and down on his right arm.

Tristan would later tell teachers that he actually heard the bones at the socket of his right elbow cracking as the student continued his attack. Another student who witnessed the attack ran to the school to inform teachers. Tristan was taken to the Mayaro Health Centre and transferred to Sangre Grande Hospital.

“My son said he heard his elbow break,” Christopher Khan said.

“The school called me and said to come down because my son was hurt while playing in the yard.

They never told me it was that boy who attacked him. My wife went down because I couldn’t and it is only then that she found out what really happened,” Khan said.

“I am so frustrated because they are saying his elbow was damaged so severely he might lose the use of his arm. I am going to take action on this immediately, because it is not fair for my boy at age nine, to face a life without the use of his arm. If you hear how my son was crying.” Frustration turned to anger, Khan said when he went to the Mayaro Police Station to make a report. “They told me they couldn’t do anything about that because it was a matter between minors. But today when the story started to spread on social media, the police called me asking for a report. Can you image this?” Minister in the Ministry of Education Dr Lovell Francis said he was not able to give a definitive statement regarding the incident until a full investigation is conducted.

“I have heard from the parents and I have heard from the school supervisor, but I have not gotten the school’s point of view as yet. I have asked that a full investigation be done, so that by tomorrow (today) I should have all the necessary information,” Minister Francis said.

“My main concern is for the child and I would urge his parents to remain with hope. I broke my leg and the doctor told me I would never walk again, but I was back playing basketball in two years time. The fact that he is nine could work in his favour because children heal faster as their bodies are still in the growth stage.” Khan said this was not the first time his son had been bullied by the boy. “First, they talked to the boy, then they put my son on one side of the class and that boy on the next side of the class. That was all they did. And it is not just my son, it is all the children in the class this boy has terrorised. He likes to rough play and my son doesn’t like that at all,” Khan said.

President of the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA) Zena Ramatali called for the introduction of anti-bullying policies.

“The violence is a reflection of what is happening in wider society and all stakeholders need to come together to find a solution.

We are calling for anti-bullying policies to be introduced in all schools,” Ramatali said.

(See Page 11A)