Here in little Mullumbimby, the whole community has been shaken by the tragic death of a teenage boy in a scuffle at school. The pain of that has been compounded by the distorted and sensationalised stories coming out of the media- even sadly our ABC didn’t get to the facts accurately.
The truth is only just emerging and it seems it was more of a freak accident than anything. There was never a vicious brawl or a mob as some media have reported. In Mullumbimby, the whole community has come together to offer support to those affected, not only by the incident itself and Jai's death but by the papparazzi-like press who descended upon our small town.
Two days after Jai's death, his parents urged Jai's friends to embrace peace and forgiveness. A memorial march was held at the school (not a walk out). On Saturday there was a funeral for Jai in our beautiful Heritage Park with hundreds of people attending. It was partly led by his teenage friends who read poems and sang songs for him. The adults and teenagers supported eachother in their grief. Balloons and doves were released at the end.
You may have heard that one of Jai's young friends called for people to tie coloured balloons to their letterboxes to symbolise peace and co-operation to honour Jai, who was a very peacable, beautiful boy and to start a National Day to recognize the need to stand up and say 'No' to bullying in all forms. The message travelled around Australia. Many of the streets of Mullumbimby were lined with balloons on Saturday.
Maybe our loving thought balloons are more ecological but just as powerful.
Pe
ace and harmony to you,Jenni Cargill-Strong
No comments:
Post a Comment