11-Year-Old Raheem Bailey Loses Finger Fleeing From Racist School Bullies, Raises £84,000 For Prosth

Sun, May 22, 2022 at 12:23 PM

11-Year-Old Raheem Bailey Loses Finger Fleeing From Racist School Bullies, Raises £84,000 For Prosth

Racism may be one of America's favorite pastimes, but anti-Blackness global.

Source: skynesher / Getty

Black children should be free to learn and have fun in school, not fending for themselves against racist attacks. While conservatives whine about white children's discomfort from learning about history, Black children like Raheem Bailey have to risk life and limb to attend school. The Independent reports that the 11-year-old had to have a finger amputated after being injured while fleeing from racist bullies.

NEW: Shantal Bailey says her son, Raheem Bailey, 11, has experienced racial and physical abuse since he began attending Abertillery Learning Community, in Wales, last September. On Tuesday, the matter escalated with horrific, permanent consequences.https://t.co/WdfWpDwoPa

— Nadine White (@Nadine_Writes) May 20, 2022

The boy's mother, Shantal Bailey, said he "experienced racial and physical" abuse since the school year started last September at Abertillery Learning Community in Wales. She knew the other kids were mean to him but had no idea how much he was suffering until the life-changing injury. Instead of getting help from the teachers at school, Raheem told his mom last Monday that he was punished for getting bullied.

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A post shared by Shantal Bailey | She/Her/Hers (@muslima_vegan)

"On Monday, Raheem called me in tears whilst I was at work, saying that he's being bullied and that the teacher threatened him with detention despite him being the one that's getting picked on. After work I attended the school and informed them that all this needed to stop. I was then reassured that everything would be handled by the Tuesday morning," she wrote on an Instagram post.

After allowing these kids to abuse Raheem for a whole school year, it's hard to imagine they ever lifted a finger to help him. Instead of handling everything the next day, the teachers allowed bullies to jump and attack him even more severely.

"On Tuesday morning break time, Raheem was attacked and beaten by a group of children whilst in school. He was pushed to the ground and then repeatedly kicked. Consequently, Raheem made a desperate attempt to leave the school grounds in order to escape the situation."

Raheem Bailey lost a finger because an institution that's supposed to protect ALL children failed him.

One of the worst things is that whatever teachers were involved actively shut down his complaints of racism with threats of detention.

The negligence is criminal.

— Ashton Hewitt ?????????????????? (@ashton_hewitt) May 21, 2022

Yes!! It's so clear that racism is ingrained in their upbringing ???? Raheem Bailey lost a finger due to systematic failures and institutionalised racism. https://t.co/0Fj44PH6Aj

— ??? (@isha1r) May 22, 2022

As one of the smaller kids in his class, outnumbered and unprotected by teachers, running away seemed like the only option. When he tried to climb a fence to escape, "his finger got caught and attached to it, causing the skin to strip and the finger to break in half."

"I received a phone call from Raheem and then the school informing me of the incident. The school told me that the ambulance wouldn't arrive for 2 hours, but advised me not to drive Raheem to A&E myself. 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."

This is a #HATECRIME and should be investigated as such. As parents, we expect our children to be SAFE in school. This is totally unacceptable. The school should be held liable. Solidarity with @muslima_vegan and her beautiful boy #RaheemBailey who is an absolute warrior. https://t.co/SBDzTUbZzn

— Carlette Norwood (@MsLette) May 20, 2022

Raheem Bailey ??
The ultimate in white privilege is not having to fear this for your children. Think about that when you spout your racist bullshit.

— Lucy lou (she/her) (@electricsmartie) May 21, 2022

Every minute counts to treat severe injuries, but the Abertillery staff showed no urgency or concern to help Raheem. They wasted precious time insisting Shantal take a school bus instead of driving the boy to a hospital. He then had to wait another 5 hours and travel another 50 miles to get emergency surgery on his finger.

"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.

"After 6 hours of surgery to save it, which was ultimately unsuccessful, his finger had to be amputated. From the day of the incident until now Abertillery learning community have not reached out to me to check on his well-being."

11yr old boy lost his finger in a desperate attempt to run away from bullies

What did his school do?@ALC_SECONDARY did nothing apart from deleting all their social media accounts

Mother of Raheem Bailey complained numerous times to them about bullyinghttps://t.co/ccTMKJKn86

— Adam ?????????????????????? (@AdamOsmond777) May 21, 2022

The negligent school released a statement claiming that the "well-being and safety of our pupils and staff remains of paramount importance." Gwent Police confirmed it is investigating the incident. The school deleted its public accounts, but only after posting a half-assed Tweet celebrating "diversity."

Apparently uploaded by @ALC_SECONDARY yesterday after the incident with Raheem Bailey. The hypocrisy ?? pic.twitter.com/50OpoItqub

— Sabah Ali-Sheikh (@SabahAliSheikh) May 20, 2022

Shantal's GoFundMe campaign to pay for his prosthetic finger exceeded the goal, raising more than £84,000 and counting. It's fantastic that they have financial support through this tragedy, but the school, teachers, and parents who enabled this little lynch mob need to be held accountable.