in Islamophobia

More than £120,000 raised in 24 hours for Syrian refugee Jamal and his family after the sickening school bullying video

The footage of a Syrian refugee boy being physically assaulted and ‘waterboarded’ in a disturbing school bullying attack in the United Kingdom has gone viral, but people have poured in with support.

The victim, named as 15-year-old Jamal, is squirted in the face with water before being headbutted in the face by a school bully in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire during the attack, with the news going viral including on TheNewArab.

The boy, whose arm is in a cast, is then pinned down by his throat as the attacker says “I’ll drown you” before forcing water from a bottle into his mouth.

The incident is said to have taken place on playing fields at Almondbury Community School on 25 October and was filmed on a mobile phone by one of the attacker’s friends, who cheered and laughed during the victim’s ordeal.

Jamal and his family settled in the area two years ago after fleeing war-torn Homs in Syria, which was under a brutal siege by the Assad regime from 2011 to 2014.

The boy and his siblings have reportedly suffered months of bullying, to the point where Jamal’s younger sister attempted to cut her own wrists in the school toilets.

It emerged later that the boy who allegedly attacked the Syrian refugee is to be charged with assault, as it was reported the victim’s sister had her headscarf ripped off in another attack on the same say.

Police said they were investigating a “racially-aggravated assault” and had interviewed a 16-year-old boy in connection with the incident.

The suspected attacker’s Facebook page features frequent posts expressing support for far-right anti-Muslim group Britain First and Tommy Robinson, a notorious British far-right activist.

There has been an outpouring of support for Jamal on social media, with a GoFundMe campaign raising over £120,000 in 24 hours.

“Jamal’s family are refugees in the UK and they struggle to meet the basic necessities of life,” Mohammed Tahir, who started the fundraising campaign, said.

“Having left a war torn country, the least they deserve is to live in peace without being harassed. Please donate generously and let’s change this horrible situation into a blessing in disguise for them.”

Footage of the sickening attack has caused outrage online.

While others reminded the world the true root of such behaviour.

https://twitter.com/IndiaWilloughby/status/1067728870349201409

“This bully, his parents, the school where this occurs and the onlookers who fail to step in, all have big questions to answer. To the Syrian refugee – I say sorry. It’s not the welcoming, friendly Britain we are supposed to be.”

A spokesman for Kirklees Council said on Twitter that “neither us nor the school condone violence in any form and behaviour like this will not be tolerated.”

However, there are those who are justifying the attack.

BullyingEnglandRefugeeSchoolSyriaUK

Written by Adeel Malik

Born in Hong Kong, grew up in Scotland and ethnically Pakistani, Adeel primes himself to be a multicultural individual who is an advent social media user for the purpose of learning and propagating Islam while is also a sports fan. Being an English teacher himself, he envisions a bright future for Muslims which he strongly believes can only be done with education.

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