An 11-year-old girl who was being bullied has been walked to school by the President of North Macedonia after he heard she was being picked on by her classmates and their parents.
President Stevo Pendarovski held hands with Embla Ademi as they walked to her school in the western city of Gostivar.
He also spoke to Embla’s parents about the challenges she and her family face on a daily basis.
Pendarovski was pictured walking hand-in-hand with Embla on Monday after he heard that she was being bullied by classmates.
Some parents had also complained that Embla was in the same school as their children and even boycotted classes that the schoolgirl attended.
President Stevo Pendarovski held hands with Embla Ademi as they walked to her school Edinstvo in the western city of Gostivar
Pendarovski was pictured walking hand-in-hand with Embla on Monday after he heard that she was being bullied by classmates
Pendarovski also spoke to Embla’s parents about the challenges she and her family face on a daily basis
The parents had alleged Embla was ‘aggressive’ and as a result, the schoolgirl had been separated from the other students and worked in a cold school hall with a small heater by her side.
This is despite caregivers at a local centre for children with special needs concluding that Embla had not shown any aggressive tendencies, according to a report in the Rheinische Post.
At the insistence of Embla’s parents, the school agreed to integrate Embla back into her class.
But outraged parents protested against the integration plans and boycotted the classes, meaning that since February 1, the 11-year-old girl has been sitting alone in a classroom.
Upon hearing of Embla’s treatment, President Pendarovski made a point by visiting her family and walking her to school.
‘The President said that the behaviour of those who endanger children’s rights is unacceptable, especially when it comes to children with atypical development,’ Pendarovski’s office said in a statement.
Upon hearing of Embla’s treatment, President Pendarovski made a point by visiting her family and walking her to school
Some parents had also complained that Embla was in the same school as their children and even boycotted classes that the schoolgirl attended. Pictured: Embla walks to school with her parents and the President of North Macedonia
‘They should not only enjoy the rights they deserve, but also feel equal and welcome in the school desks and schoolyard.
‘It is our obligation, as a state, but also as individuals, and the key element in this common mission is empathy.
‘It will help children like Embla, but it will also help us learn from them how to sincerely rejoice, share and be in solidarity, the president added.’
‘We are all equal in this society,’ Pendarovski said. ‘I came here to give my support and to raise awareness that inclusion is a basic principle.’
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The Minister of Education and Science Jeton Shaqiri previously announced that Embla would be reintegrated into her classes.
He said that Embla did not feel happy about returning to school on the first day of the semester in February because he said ‘in our society there are still stereotypes and prejudices about people with disabilities.’
‘Embla will attend regular classes,’ her father Ilir Ademi told NovaTV last week.
‘Although there is still no positive reaction from the parents of the other children who petitioned for my daughter to be out of school, I still received a promise from the local government that Embla would attend regular classes in the future and that this unfortunate event would not happen again.’
President Stevo Pendarovski visited in Gostivar the family of Embla Ademi on Monday
Mr Ademi said that the problems began in November when a group of parents whose parents were studying in the same class as Embla, complained to the principle to remove Embla from the class.
‘My daughter was assigned to study in shifts, and to attend classes for two weeks in three different classes,’ he said.
‘It was supposed to be a temporary solution, due to the petition of the parents, who complained to the principal that my daughter interfered in the teaching process.’
‘Embla is constantly with the educational assistant from the beginning to the end of the classes and he would alert if that really was the case,’ Mr Ademi added.
‘The petition of parents against a child with Down Syndrome is the latest defeat of our society when it comes to the attitude towards the most vulnerable among us,’ said the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights.
