PM Young: Sorry to every bullied child

“I apologise to every child who was bullied,” Prime Minister Stuart Young said as he committed to addressing the issue of bullying in society.

He made the statement at his first post-Cabinet media briefing on March 20 at Whitehall, as concerns continued to be raised about reports of Young bullying a classmate, Imran Khan, in 1992 while they were both at St Mary’s College.

The reports surfaced the day after Young was sworn in on March 17, via a post by Khan’s sister, and thereafter with photos of clippings from the TT Mirror.

When the issue was raised at the briefing, Young said it was a very unfortunate, very traumatic incident which took place 33 years ago.

“If the issue coming out of it, that I accept, is one of bullying, then I have absolutely no problem standing here today and saying that as the Prime Minister, and as an individual at my stage of life, 50 years old, I am sorry for any child who has to endure bullying, which as we now know is an issue.

“If I have to take responsibility for anything, including mistakes, I will be the first person to take responsibility, I have no intention of shirking from that, so I stand here without fear, and I am apologising to every single child who has had to endure bullying. And how we address it now and how we move forward as a society, especially in our education system, that is where the focus is going to be.”

When asked if he had apologised to Khan, Young said he had already addressed the issue.

“I was a teenager and the other individual involved was also a teenager at the time.

“As I said, I am not going to do anything that would affect that at this stage, because I don’t think it’s a conversation you get into details about, ‘He say, this one say, different people having recollections, etc.’ I don’t think there’s any benefits to that.

“I am not going to do anything to affect persons’ recollections of the incident or to water down their feelings, how they feel, because it was a traumatic incident, not only for Mr Khan, but for me and for many other people, as we’ve seen coming out of it.”

Asked whether he would be apologising to Khan directly, and if he thought this would affect him at the April 28 polls, Young said he was not sure what would or would not affect him at the polls.

“What I have done is presented myself to the population, addressed the Imran Khan issue very frontally and carefully. I understand what your position is, and what you’re trying to push towards. I have apologised to everyone who was bullied, every child who was bullied and that is far as I will go at this stage.

“It was a very unfortunate, very traumatic incident, but at this stage, I am not going to go back 33 years ago. I can deal with the present, I cannot change the past, I don’t know if anyone can change the past.”

He said he was committed to using his office to address the issue of bullying, which could have lifelong effects.

“I also understand that incidents that people would go through as children growing up in society, anywhere in the world, would then later on influence their decisions in life, would then later on influence how their experiences in life are, including me.

“They are defining moments in your life. So, that is my position with respect to it.

“It’s the younger generation I am particularly concerned about, because it’s incidents to the younger people and the people growing up who can create the rest of their lives through experiences.”

Bullying in schools

Young said he raised the issue with his meeting with religious heads of denominational boards who are part of the Concordat on March 18. He said addressing bullying in schools would require consultation with various stakeholders.

“One of the things we were discussing is that you have to have the experts. I am no psychological expert. I want the experts to come in because this is real. We have incidents taking place in our society, especially with social media, not only here but in other areas of the world that sometimes lead to fatality, that sometimes lead to young people taking their lives. We can’t stand by as a society and responsible people and do nothing about it.”

He said the issue of cyberbullying was also of great concern to him.

“That is where I would like the population to focus on as well because the issue of cyberbullying is very real. Me, now as an adult who has come into public life, like many others, I’m subject to cyberbullying.”

“We can’t sit back as a society and allow people, through being anonymous, through being bots, be it whoever, to bully people, especially our young people. So it is going to be a period of consultation, we’re going to find the right professionals to lead us, to guide us, it’s going to include the legislative side and these are some of the things I’m going to prioritise and focus on for us in TT to address.”

Bullying in politics

Asked about bullying at the political level by the PNM and others in the Parliament, Young said, “Why don’t you address it frontally? I was looking at my TV last night and saw the Leader of the Opposition, who’s the political leader of the UNC, spend a whole Monday night talking about Stuart Young this, and Stuart Young that and the most. I don’t go and say those types of things.

“I’m subject to a lot of bullying by some on the other side. There’s a particular phrase they like to use that is not a complimentary phrase, in fact it’s a race whistle some could say. But this is the society we live in.”

Young was told there were reports from the public that they had been bullied by ministers and others in the PNM, as was asked what he would do to change the behaviour of elements in the Cabinet who faced such claims.

“I always try to look for positives, solutions and the way forward. So the positive that has come out of an incident that took place 33 years ago, is that it has brought to the forefront of conversation this concept of bullying.

“What I invite all of TT to do now, including Cabinet colleagues, members of Parliament and members of all political parties, is let’s be a little more sensitive, let us understand everyone is a human being we’re dealing with, and how do we, because you’re only in control of yourself at the end of the day, as individuals, through our actions and our words, be more sensitive about how we might affect people.”

What happened 33 years ago

According to the TT Mirror on March 20, 1992, Khan who was in Form 5, was expelled from St Mary’s College in Port of Spain after hitting “a known Form Six bully” with a baton.

In an article on March 27, Young was named as the Form Six student. The paper reported that former dean Llewellyn “Short Pants” McIntosh, defended Khan in a letter to principal Anthony de Verteuil, saying the college was guilty and Young was not the only student hurt, as Khan had been teased continually and suffered persecution.

In an April 3 article, de Verteuil said Khan had not been expelled but was sent home pending a psychologist’s report.

“I could not take the chance of letting him attend school. He exploded once and there is a chance he might explode again.

“The boy was teased continually about going back to primary school because of his small size. He was also heckled about being a homosexual. “Were he an ordinary student, he would have found some way to let out his anger immediately. But unfortunately he just kept quiet and buried it all inside.”

The article said teachers and students said Khan was victimised because he was an Indian. De Verteuil denied this, saying two of the other four students who bullied Khan were Indian.

“Khan exploded and Stuart just happened to be the one in his warpath.

“I don’t know that Stuart was any worse than the other teasers. Stuart and the other teasers did not realise what they were doing. The whole thing just exploded out of proportion.”

Khan’s sister Nadia, in a Facebook post, said her brother was unable to sit his exams while his bullies were able to do so.

“The trauma of being bullied in his high school years still lives with him today. The wound has healed but scars remain.”