“ I tried to convey a sense of respect and empathy to my daughter, but I didn't teach her to respond to offenses . And she, my 7-year-old daughter, is incapable of defending herself from bullies." It is a mother who speaks to L'Unione Sarda to tell the story of the ordeal experienced by Martina (we will call her that, for her protection), targeted by a classmate , and with a body that reacts in silence with her hair falling out, in clumps, day after day .
The mother's sense of guilt is enormous: « What did I do wrong? Should I have told her that she has to respond to oppression, to oppression? That when a situation is difficult we have to walk away? That's not what I want for her. Martina must have her redemption, she must understand that someone is defending her ».
It all started a few months ago : Martina and Andrea (fictional name) are friends, they often play together in a school in the province of Oristano. Then one begins to bully the other which over time become real harassment: "You stole something from me, I'll tell the teacher", "If you don't do this, I'll go to the teacher".
Accusations that in the mind of a child become heavy to digest and Martina is unable to react. « She loves her teachers very much and respects them, so she doesn't feel like responding in kind when she is scolded even if she knows very well that she hasn't done anything they reproach her for».
The family turns to professionals, including a psychologist, to help the child. The various strategies do not work, in fact the situation worsens. In the morning, when it's time to leave for school, Martina is always sick. Investigations are carried out to exclude pathologies but no cause of his discomfort and hair loss is identified: it is not alopecia, there are no dysfunctions, it is not celiac disease, diabetes or anything else. The only reason for this state of affairs is identified in emotional stress.
