Parktown Boys' High parents defend school
Parktown Boys' High School parents believe the arrest of 12 of their matric boys after a violent initiation ceremony earlier this year has "taken things too far".
But Pene Kimber, the mother of one of the Grade 11 boys who was beaten during the initiation, said she had waited three months before the charges were taken seriously. Only now was justice being done, and this was the only way initiation violence at the school would be stopped, she added.
The matric pupils were arrested on a charge of assault with the intention to do grievous bodily harm after one of the Grade 11s laid a charge against them after the initiation took place in February.
Parents have told The Star the matrics are writing exams in a few days' time. Their arrests had been badly timed and put huge pressure on them.
One mother, who wanted to be identified only as Cindy, said she was shaking when she heard the news of the arrests.
"I am so angry," she said. "Why must these kids be made to suffer like this? This just isn't fair. The school is being given a bad name when it's such a wonderful school."
Another mother, whose son was also beaten during the initiation ceremony, said none of the other Grade 11 parents agree that the charges should go ahead. The mother wanted to remain anonymous.
"My son told me about the initiation immediately after it had taken place," she said. "He and the other Grade 11s are not angry or upset with the matrics - they are actually all extremely good friends. All the boys are enormously proud of their school, and angry that it has been portrayed in a negative light in the media. The school has done everything in its power to help the situation and the boys.
"We do not believe criminal charges are warranted," she added. "One needs to remember that the matrics were misguided in the belief that they were upholding tradition."
Principal Tom Clark said yesterday he felt Kimber was being vindictive and the school had done everything it could to stop, punish and support the pupils after the initiation.
"I get the feeling she won't be satisfied unless these boys are expelled," said Clark.
Kimber said it was only long after the initiation, and only after she had spoken out in the media, that something was done about the practice, which has been performed at the school for many years.
"It is the teachers and Tom Clark who have been unfair to these boys," Kimber said. "The initiation was 40 percent the kids' fault and 60 percent the teachers'. They knew about the initiation. Why should these boys be exempted for the suffering they caused?"
When The Star broke the story of the initiation ceremony in February, parents inundated journalists with stories of their own and their son's initiations at the school, which they said had been ignored after they reported the cases. One mother related how her son committed suicide after a similar initiation.
Lynne Cawood, director of Childline in Gauteng, said she felt this was a South African tragedy that was playing out.
"The reality is that it is the system of violent initiation at boys' schools that needs to change," said Cawood. "It is sad when children face a jail situation and are punished to the extent that they lose their dignity and sense of pride. But we also have empathy for the victim, who went through a traumatic experience."
When the boys were released into the custody of their parents on Tuesday night, one asked: "I am just a child. Why is this happening?"
Cawood hopes there will now be debate about what people think about violence in initiation. "How do we assist boys to become proud young men through a ceremony that bonds them but without the violence or humiliation?"
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