An 11-year-old Black student, unfortunately, had his finger amputated after he sustained an injury while he was trying to run away from school “bullies.” The injured student’s mother, Shantal Bailey, said her son Raheem was subjected to racial and physical abuse after his September 2021 enrollment at Abertillery Learning Community in Wales, Independent reported.
Bailey said she notified school officials about the bullying last Monday after Raheem informed her that he had been threatened with detention though he was the victim. Bailey added that she was told her complaint would be looked into the next morning.
But on Tuesday, Bailey said a group of children beat her son during morning break time. And while he was desperately trying to leave the school to escape the alleged attack, Raheem’s finger got caught in a fence and ended up breaking in two.
“Raheem was attacked and beaten by a group of children whilst in school. He was pushed to the ground and then repeatedly kicked,” Bailey said. “Consequently, Raheem made a desperate attempt to leave the school grounds in order to escape the situation. I received a phone call from Raheem and then the school informing me of the incident.”
Raheem ended up being transported to the Accident and Emergency in the school bus after Bailey was told it would take two hours for an ambulance to arrive. He was in the company of his mother and brother at the time.
“Raheem, his baby brother and I were taken to a minor injuries unit by the school bus, despite them knowing that his injury was severe,” Bailey said.
“We spent the next five hours waiting for an ambulance to transfer us to the location where he would undergo surgery, in Swansea, 50 miles away from his home and school.
“As time rolled on, it became more apparent that the possibility my son was going to lose his finger was a real one. The doctors then confirmed this was likely. I had to explain this to him while he sat there in agony.”
Raheem underwent a six-hour surgery to save his finger. But his finger was ultimately amputated, Independent reported. “From the day of the incident until now Abertillery learning community have not reached out to me to check on his well-being,” Bailey said.
Responding to the incident, a spokesperson for Abertillery Learning Community said they are “currently working closely with Gwent Police and the local authority to establish the full details of the incident.”
“The well-being and safety of our pupils and staff remains of paramount importance. We will not be commenting further at this time,” the spokesperson added.
Gwent Police also said they’re investigating the incident. “A multi-agency meeting has taken place and we’re working with the school as part of our ongoing enquires,” a spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Bailey has set up a GoFundMe to help raise funds to buy a personalized prosthetic finger for her son.
