Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
Racist bullying: Far-right agenda on immigration 'being taken into classrooms'
Heated debate on immigration blamed for increase in children reporting abuse
The number of children seeking help for racist bullying increased sharply last year, as campaigners warn that the heated public debate about immigration is souring race relations in the classroom.
More than 1,400 children and young people contacted ChildLine for counselling about racist bullying in 2013, up 69 per cent on the previous 12 months. Islamophobia is a particular issue in schools, according to the charity, with young Muslims reporting that they are being called "terrorists" and "bombers" by classmates.
Children who have poor English or a strong accent are often called "freshies" - an abusive term that highlights their struggle to fit in.
The rise in children needing help for xenophobic bullying coincides with rising political hostility to immigration - especially in the lead-up to this month's lifting of restrictions on Romanians and Bulgarians entering the UK.
In 2011, just 802 children approached the charity seeking help for racist bullying.
Sue Minto, head of ChildLine, said: "There's so much more of a focus in the news at the moment about immigrants... it's a real discussion topic and children aren't immune to the conversations that happen around them.
"Some children are being told, even if they're UK born, to pack your bags and go back where you belong. It is very worrying, it's a big increase. This past year, it really seems to be something children and young people are suffering with."
Overall, the number of children needing support for bullying of any kind was up 8 per cent between 2012 and 2013, according to ChildLine.
The charity's report found that the majority of the racist bullying affecting children was happening at school and many of those calling ChildLine for counselling say teachers ignore the situation or make it worse with clumsy interventions.
James Kingett, of the charity Show Racism The Red Card (SRTRC) which seeks to combat racism, said: "We work with around 50,000 young people every year and issues around Islamophobia have been very prevalent over the past 12 to 18 months. That idea that all Muslims are terrorists or bombers is a particular problem. We're getting that from kids with no Muslim classmates through to those in diverse schools with many Muslims."
Mr Kingett added: "We are doing work on the impact of far-right groups such as the English Defence League on children's attitudes. Often children are picking up language at home and from parents and taking that to be fact. The rhetoric at the moment around immigration is incredibly pervasive. The prominence of the immigration debate may have had a knock-on effect, filtering down in classrooms."
According to ChildLine, several young people who had the courage to tell a teacher then found that nothing happened or that they were given advice to simply ignore the bullies, which they found unhelpful and ineffective.
Others were reluctant to speak out, fearing that the situation would become worse.
Some actions taken by the school made things worse, some children said. For example, racist bullying being discussed in assembly simply advertised it and led to increased abusive behaviour.
Ms Minto said: "This kind of bullying seems to be happening much more at school and on the way to school than on social media. Some of the children who've spoken to us say that they've told a teacher and they didn't do anything. Another said 'I told a teacher and it became a topic in assembly,' which is horrendous."
While girls are ordinarily more likely to approach ChildLine about bullying, more boys get in touch about racist abuse. Of the calls and online counselling sessions, 52 per cent involved boys, 32 per cent girls and 16 per cent were gender unknown.
Mr Kingett said that although the rise in racist bullying complaints was worrying, it at least indicated that children were prepared to seek help about their problems.
The ChildLine report also found there was a dramatic rise in those seeking help with online abuse, with counselling for cyber bullying up 87 per cent in a year.
Full report Independent.
Guest 745- Registered: 27 Mar 2012
- Posts: 3,370
reg
If a sensible immigration policy had been in place over the last 50 years it would not have been an issue today.
No far right wing groups would have been gaining ground, especially on the continent
Rubbing people's noses in diversity was a stupid policy, cared out be politician with no commonsense, regarding political public reaction .
Trouble is reg your lot don't listen to the public
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
Spot in Keith - racial tension is caused by the open door immigration policy of Labour. They had the opportunity, after all, to delay immigration by the low skilled from Poland and other new EU entrants for a few years and refused to do so while the rest of the EU imposed the restrictions. A disaster and we now see that this immigration did not bring the economic benefits being claimed and pushed down wages.
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
absolute tosh,#2,#3.its just racial hatred led by the far right and bigoted minded people.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
far right groups like edl and bnp are created by governments allowing mass immigration to help big corporations get cheap labour. inevitably they are housed in poorer areas where services are already stretched causing tensions.
looking at post 1 again it is more about islamophobia than immigration.
Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
The far right are operating
and we wold be wrong to ignore it
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Guest 698- Registered: 28 May 2010
- Posts: 8,664
The important thing is not to give them the oxygen of publicity. The media are guilty of giving prominence to these extremists. Same applies to other extreme groups of course. If they want to publicize their message let them pay to do so.
I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
Peter in a near perfect world that may work but history has shown that to ignore the far right it will steadily grow.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
far right parties have never made much of an impact in this country, the bnp get the odd councillor here and there, but membership of them and the edl has been steadily falling.
Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
Because of the strong opposition experienced..... 38 degrees etc etc
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
much more to with their lack of credibility, the french version actually look like respectable politicians so garner much wider support.
Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
# 9 & 11.....on that basis UKIP will go the same way.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
12
you have obviously not read up on the french national front.
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
The danger howard is, that yes the French national front giving confidence to other far right groups waiting in the wings in the UK
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
our far right groups can have much confidence as they like but they get nowhere except with a few oddballs.
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
hope your right howard(excuse the pun lol)
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Guest 745- Registered: 27 Mar 2012
- Posts: 3,370
Griffin got a million votes and become a MEP ,I think .
And Galloway romped home. The extreme left and right are one economic depression away.
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
thats the danger
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
# 13........Speaking of reading up on the french national front.......too close for comfort?
Marine Le Pen says Front National and Ukip 'closer than they would like to admit'
French far-Right party leader Marine Le Pen says Ukip and Front National could join forces to bring down EU
Marine Le Pen, leader of the French far-Right party, has said that Ukip has far more in common with the Front National than it would like to admit and that the two parties could join forces to bring down the EU's "Berlin wall of Brussels".
Speaking from her Paris headquarters, Miss Le Pen, whose party is expected to score well in forthcoming European elections, said Ukip is avoiding an alliance due to "electoral considerations".
"They say they're not in agreement with us. My foot," she told the Telegraph. "OK, we don't have the same economic policies [but] they share our point of view on the European Union and immigration: everyone must control his borders, European technocrats must disappear, the European Soviet Union must collapse, everyone must have their own currency, their economic policy and decide in their own home."
"There are political considerations behind this," she said. "Ukip currently presides its own group and will try to rebuild that group (after the EU elections in May)."
"If they don't manage to create a group again, they will surely not find it a bad idea to join with us."
Guest 1103- Registered: 3 Nov 2013
- Posts: 759
All media controlled stuff and certainly not worth a comment. Whereever you look listen and watch its all about immigration. Then Everybody looks up in surprise if the Kids behaving like narrowminded Adults??
Surely its NOT a surprise. Its all media and society wanting it that way. Just look around in the forum itself, or on social media sites. Its all the same.... Immigration Immigration Immigration.
Its a real shame that people falling for this, as it is really not needed.
Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud. Maya Angelou ☺🌈🌄🌌🌏🌍🌎