President of Czechia meets young girl from Ukraine whose classmates bullied her

Petr Pavel, President of Czechia, has stressed that he strongly opposes bullying, humiliation and violence in schools in all cases, but finds them particularly shameful when they target a child who was forced to flee her country because of the war. 

Source: European Pravda, quoting Petr Pavel on Twitter

Details: Pavel posted a photo from his meeting with a young Ukrainian girl. A video posted to social media earlier this week showed the girl being bullied by her schoolmates during a school trip.

The President of Czechia said he appreciated the fact that the school and the parents have addressed the issue and the offenders apologised to the girl. However, he said, "her soul will remain scarred".

Odsuzuji šikanu, ponižování a násilí ve školách obecně. A v případě dítěte, které muselo opustit svoji zemi a přátele kvůli válce a kterému jsme nabídli bezpečné útočiště, je to zvlášť ostudné. Oceňuji reakci školy a rodičů i to, že došlo k omluvě. Šrámy na duši ale zůstanou. pic.twitter.com/q3yJKdrktr

— Petr Pavel (@prezidentpavel) June 10, 2023

The video shows school children swearing and spitting at the girl.

Czechia’s Education Minister Mikuláš Bek also commented on the video, saying that "bullying in any form is absolutely unacceptable". He urged teachers to stand up to bullying in their classrooms. On Twitter, Interior Minister Vít Rakušan said spitting in the face of a child was a "spit in the face of our entire civilization". "Children are simply imitating our behaviour. And they clearly show how cruel and stupid this behaviour can sometimes be," he added.

"I denounce bullying, humiliation, and violence in schools in all cases. But it is particularly shameful when it targets a child who was forced to leave her country and her friends because of the war, and to whom we offered shelter," Petr Pavel wrote.

Journalists reported that the Ukrainian girl was bullied during  a trip involving students from an elementary school in Opočno, located in eastern Bohemia. School principal Eva Aleksandrova told journalists after the incident that the school would resolve the issue with the parents and that she certainly did not endorse such behaviour.

Previously: Police in Czechia are conducting an investigation after a woman in the town of Znojmo raised a Wagner Group flag.

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