Portugal: Boy undergoes psychological follow-up because he has been a victim of racism and xenophobia several times, since the time he attended daycare. Mother complains about the naturalization of racism at school and in various environments: “Here, we who are black, immigrants, live with this reality”
The boy Miguel lying on the floor (Reproduction/WhatsApp)
via Grow
Born in Minas Gerais, Miriam Gomes has lived in Portugal for 16 years. Her son, Miguel Felipe, 14, was born in the European country. Miguel has been the victim of episodes of racism and xenophobia since he attended daycare. “Around here, it’s a reality we have to deal with,” he explained.
This time, however, the situation went beyond words and Miguel was violently assaulted. A student even gave a “rear naked choke” (strangulation) to Miriam’s son. His mother had to take him to the hospital, where he was immobilized, with a cervical collar, under observation for two hours. “It was the last straw”, said she, who lives in a town called Grândola, near Setúbal.
The episode took place on the 23rd of February. “In between classes, he was playing ‘the floor is lava’ with his friends, in which one shouts ‘the floor is lava’ and everyone has to get off the ground”, says Miriam.
Miguel and another friend climbed a tree. “Then this other boy came and started calling my son ‘monkey’. Miguel asked him to stop and reinforced that he didn’t like that kind of game, but the other child didn’t stop. Miguel came down from the tree and the boy gave him a rear naked choke”, reports the mother. A fourth boy took the attacker off of Miguel and he managed to escape.
Nervous, Miguel called his mother, but he could barely speak. A friend who was with him, then, took the cell phone and explained to Miriam: “Aunt, a boy hit Miguel and hanged him”. Miriam, at the same time, went to the school, but was stopped at the entrance.
Later, he managed to talk to one of the staff, who said that the school would notify the local school police about what had happened, so that an inquiry could be opened with disciplinary proceedings against the child abuser. Afterwards, this same employee instructed the mother to take the boy to the hospital because he was in pain, but she did not know how to properly explain what she felt.
She then went to seek medical attention. “In the triage room, they already immobilized him because the boy had squeezed his neck until it ‘snapped’ twice. He put on the neck brace and was under observation for two hours. The x-ray, fortunately, did not show anything, it was a muscle dislocation”, says the mother. He was released, but his mother’s revolt remained.
As he has already suffered from racism in previous episodes, one in daycare and another in soccer [pouco mais de um mês antes da agressão atual, um menino disse a Miguel que o pai dele ‘era preto igual ao chinelo que ele estava usando’]the boy has been undergoing psychological care for months.
“The psychologist encourages him to let his feelings out because he is very withdrawn, in his own way, quiet”, says Miriam. “I say he has every right to be angry, upset, cry. You just can’t let it turn into heartache and go to the heart because that’s bad for him. ”, She says.
At the hospital, when he was on the stretcher, immobilized, Miriam said that her son could vent. “I will never forget his words at that moment. He cried and said: ‘Mom, I didn’t do anything to the boy. Why did he do this to me? I was playing with my friends. It hurts, it hurts”.
“I make a point of always hugging him and saying that he is the love of my life. I always say that if they call you ‘black’, ‘monkey’, it will hurt, because here, we, who are black, immigrants, live with this reality. But I reinforce that this is not going to kill him and that he is honest and loved, regardless of race, color, accent, whether his parents are Brazilian ”, he explains.
“Here it is clear. They say: ‘that colored boy’. I always tell Miguel that if someone calls him a ‘colored boy’, he has to stand up and say, ‘I’m not a colored boy. I have a name. I’m Miguel’”, says the mother, who works as a housekeeper and has two other children, Arthur, 8, and Esther, 2.
The day after the assault, Miriam went to the police and they stated that no one from the school had been in touch – although the school staff had assured her that they would. Now, the mother fights for those responsible to be punished and for the school to take responsibility for what happened.
The boy who attacked Miguel went back to school on Monday (2/27) and Miguel on Wednesday (3/1). “Until now, no one has contacted us or said anything”, says the mother. “But I will not shut up, I want justice. I will continue to show my son that I know how to fight, regardless of being Brazilian or black”.