Teen kills himself after teachers bullied him for 3 years after his father's death: 'I am tired. I want to die'
A teenage Kazakh schoolboy committed suicide after he was continuously bullied by two of his teachers following the death of his father. In a heartbreaking suicide note, 14-year-old Zhanibek Zhuzdai wrote how he was relentlessly bullied by teachers Aisulu and Zhanar Baratova, who are sisters, and called a "slumdog", "basketcase", and "scum".
According to Daily Mail, Zhanibek had been quietly handling the bullying on his own for three years because he did not want to worry his mother, but could no longer withstand the abuse after it worsened following the death of his eight-year-old brother two months ago.
The 14-year-old was found hanging at his family home in the village of Shardara, in Southern Kazakhstan's Turkistan region, by his mother Kalamkas Zhuzdai. Witnesses at the scene said she cried so much she was struggling to breathe.
In a suicide note he left behind, Zhanibek called out Aisulu and Zhanar for bullying him and detailed how they had called him hurtful names for the last three years. They had reportedly made fun of him for being an half-orphan, insulted him and his mother, and then doubled down and became worse after his younger brother also died to disease.
It was also implied in the message that he was being targeted because he did not have a father to protect him. "Baratova Aisulu and Baratova Zhanar are constantly humiliating me," a part of the note which was obtained by local media read. "They call me 'slumdog', 'basketcase', 'scum'. They are also insulting my mum. Mum, it has been going on for three years now. I am tired. I want to die."
The police have opened a criminal case against the two sisters for incitement to suicide, with their relatives reportedly reaching out to the teen's family to beg for forgiveness so charges against them can be dropped.
"Their [Baratova sisters'] relatives are coming to us and asking for forgiveness," said Bakyt Kaldybekov, Zhanibek's uncle. "But we cannot forgive them. They should be punished according to the law. They deserve it." Baktygul Utegenova, the deputy principal at the Alimbetov School where the 14-year-old studied and was bullied, expressed his shock at the suicide. "We are in shock and we do not even know what to think," he said. "The boy did not look depressed. He was active and took part in different school events. He was an aspiring athlete."
Despite the criminal case against Aisulu and Zhanar, the school has not taken action against them. The former, a history teacher, and the latter, a primary school teacher, have taught at the school for 20 years and continue to have a job. If they are found guilty of their charges, they could face upto three years in prison.