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A video showing a bullying incident has gone viral in Cyprus where a crowd of students at a junior high in Limassol allegedly ganged up on a boy in the yard, prompting a shocked mother who also saw the footage to take to Facebook and warn that school delinquency was out of control.
Limassol police said they were investigating a school incident after a complaint was filed at the Yermasoyia station in connection with a disturbing hazing incident at an unnamed school in the district.
The video appeared to show a large group of students ganging up on a 13-year-old boy, with some of them physically hazing their schoolmate, pulling his hair and putting him in a headlock.
It was not fully clear from the video whether any teachers were present but many students appeared to have been laughing during the incident in the school yard, where boys and girls were present.
According to the Kathimerini Cyprus, a mother who saw the video footage was shocked and took to Facebook to express her frustration.
“When I saw the videos that were being tossed back and forth between students I was shocked by the reactions of the other students there who were not only staring but also laughing and enjoying the whole thing,” she wrote.
It was not fully clear whether the woman who wrote the comment was the mother of the alleged victim or a parent of another child at the school.
'I don't know what can be done to address this prevalence in incidence of violence and delinquency but from what I saw today in the videos, the situation is totally out of control'
But according to her post, the victim of the violent incident was a vulnerable student who was bullied many times in the previous school year.
“I don't know what can be done to address this prevalence in incidence of violence and delinquency but from what I saw today in the videos, the situation is totally out of control,” the mother said.
She went on to say that 13-year-olds were known to smoke, have sex, and act out in a violent way on school premises.
“Where are the parents and teachers? What is the role of parents associations? With what values are their kids growing up? I’m just wondering,” she asked.
The mother also offered a prediction that “education, values, and principles would disappear entirely from schools in just a few years if the current system prevails.”
Police did not provide a report on the incident.
According to laws of the Republic of Cyprus, junior high students are not criminally liable due to their young age.
