Thursday, 29 October, 2009, 2:26 PM Special Report by Guy Leven-Torres 29th October 2009 Let me tell you about William. He is a very bright child and comes from a nice home. William is extremely polite, courteous and a very normal healthy child. William has a friend called Zoe. She is Asian but William and Zoe are inseparable in the Surrey school they go to near Bagshot. However last week, Zoe and William had an argument in which William used the term ‘Zoe Bin Laden’. Zoe is not a Moslem but a Thomasian Christian, one of the oldest Christian sects in the world alongside the Copts in Egypt.. (Saint Thomas is credited with introduction of Christianity in India in 52 AD[3]. Most of the Christians in India are converted from Hindu or Muslim. 70% of Indian Christian Population is Dalit, who like many other Hindu converts have even after conversion continued with their caste system. According to the 3rd century text Acts of Thomas, (written in Syriac), when the apostles were in Jerusalem and divided the world among them, it was decided that Saint Thomas would go to India. Saint Thomas then arrived in North West India, and baptized King Gondophares and his brother, thereby heralding the beginning of Christianity in India.[11] However, the Acts of Thomas may be apocrypha, and may not be a historical account, and its characters may have been influenced by the Indo-Parthian Kingdom that existed in north-western India). Zoe’s mother, Maria, received a phone call about ‘a very serious matter indeed and it could not be discussed on the phone and the Police might be involved, subject to our discussions today- that is if you come right now?’ William’s mother Carol also received a phone call about ‘a very serious matter’. Almost panicking, both mothers rushed to the local school. I have changed the locations because the matter is still being investigated. Be content that it is somewhere in Surrey close to where I live. I know both women personally and both are well educated and well balanced. At the school they were almost frogmarched into the presence of the School Manager who sat behind a desk accompanied by a Police Officer- in fact I learned later there were two of them. William’s mother was alredy there but her son had been isolated in a special room away from all other children. The school refused to allow his mother access to him. She complained but was only allowed to see a very frightened and tearful little boy after she had been ‘interrogated’ (in her own words) by the officers and the Manager. Zoe’s mother was made to wait while William’s mother was seen first. It was obvious the school were interested in William’s mother’s attitudes and that of his father, a car dealer. Eventually she was asked to wait outside and Zoe’s mother was asked to go in, where it was explained that the ‘very serious matter’ concerned her daughter being called ‘Zoe Bin Laden’. Trying not to laugh, Maria asked why should such a trivial childish bit of name calling result in such excessive behaviour by the school? The Manager replied that the school took racist incidents very seriously. The Police were not officially involved at that moment dependent upon their ‘preliminary inquiries.’ Maria asked the School Manager if this was ‘some kind of prank or perhaps a surprise birthday gram’ as it was her 43 birthday? It soon dawned upon her that the school was quite serious. Maria is rather fiery by nature and does not suffer fools gladly. She like a lot of Indians is quite plain spoken. ‘Are you telling me that my daughter’s best friend is being accused of racism?’ ‘Yes!’ ‘Are you sick in the head Head Mistress- two five year old children for heaven’s sake? A child cannot differentiate between one race and another- he probably heard it on the radio or TV! Please tell me this is not a wind up?’ ‘No it is not!’ Maria demanded to see her daughter immediately and despite refusals, the child was eventually brought to her. She took her daughter’s hand and removed her from the school. She told the school that she had no intention of returning her and that she would continue to play with William. The school said she could not do this and that matters might be made worse if she did so. She asked if they were threatening her? ‘No but we might have to bring in the social services!’ It was then that she noticed her friend and William’s mother in the room with a crying child. She entered the ‘quiet room’ where little William was incarcerated. The Manager tried to stop the friends having contact. Mary told the woman to ‘shut up’ and went into see Carol and William. The little boy crying like mad hanging on to his mother for life and clearly terrified said, ‘I didn’t mean to be naughty mummy and auntie Carol, please tell the teacher that! Please mummy … I didn’t mean to be nasty to Zoe!’ The women immediately took the children despite protests of the school- the Police were clearly embarrassed apparently when it was clear the school was exagerating- and the women left the school. Neither William or Zoe will be returning. Yesterday, both mothers received letters from Social Services to make an appointment to see the families concerned and both are now ‘under investigation’. The school also wrote a letter to Zoe stating that William’s remarks would ‘remain on his school record’. In English Law a child under 10 years is incapable of committing a crime. This is the UK 2009. Disgusting! GuyWilliam is just five years old and a branded racist
Thursday, 29 October 2009
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